Tron: The Revolution Begins -- Book 2: Rise of the Resistance Movement
by PrincessKai317
Summary: Things aren't well... Betrayal, separation, secrets... Everyone keeps secrets, but how long can anyone last before having to spill the energy? Beck and Ally have gone through all of it so far in their adventure. But how much longer will they go before they start to crack under pressure...? Old friends, new friends; who can be trusted? Who can't...? Beck/OC Paige/OC Zed/Mara
1. A Fresh Start

**Chapter 1**

"Uh, Beck?"

Beck glanced at his mentor. "Yeah? What is it?"

Tron narrowed his eyes. "There's a lightcycle in the Outlands."

"Oh? Let me see." Beck looked at the screen that overlooked the Outlands and zoomed in on a high-sped, lit up object. Of course, it was a lightcycle. "Hmmm…there's a lightcycle in the Outlands."

Tron rolled his eyes. "I just said that." Tron walked over to the big screen and pulled up a few files and did some stuff that Beck could barely understand. "I'm looking at their energy readings, but I'm not picking up a signature." Tron turned off the screen. "Whoever's out there certainly doesn't want to be identified."

Beck rolled his eyes this time. "No duh. I wouldn't want to be identified either."

Tron studied Beck's face for a while. "I zoomed into her image just enough to know that she's a girl." Tron stole a glance out the window. "You know Argon and its citizens well enough to know who is new around here. I need you to find out who this program is and find out why she's here."

Beck frowned. "What if she's just an ordinary program who just wanted to avoid a train ride?"

Tron raised an eyebrow at Beck. "Why isn't she on a public road?"

Beck studied the ground for a while. "Um, she likes to challenge herself?"

Tron rolled his eyes and looked out the window again. "Argon is the most troubled City on the Grid at the moment. Anyone who's coming at this time is looking for a fight. I need you to find out who she is and what she's doing in Argon."

Beck sighed. "Fine, but I'm just saying: She might not be interested in fighting a revolution, let alone **our** revolution. She's probably just…visiting a friend or something."

Tron narrowed his eyes. Beck sighed in defeat and walked towards the elevator. "Fine, but if I turn out to be right about all this, I'm going to say: 'I told you so!'"

Tron kept looking out the window. "That's fine with me, Beck. That's fine with me…"

Beck ran outside and drew his disk, disguising himself in Tron's disguise with white circuitry. He took a running start and rezzed his bike. It might take a while to catch up with this rider, because she is skilled.

When they were about halfway to the City, she glanced backwards. Beck might have mistaken, but he could've sworn he'd heard her sigh in frustration and curse. Beck rolled his eyes and kept his usual pace behind her. He knew she couldn't go any faster unless she wanted to overheat her bike's engine.

When she reached the edge of Argon City, she slammed on the brakes and turned her bike back into a baton. When Beck got closer, he saw that she was wearing a mask. He decided to put his on too before he also turned his bike into a baton.

He might be going mad, but the girl that he was chasing was actually growling at him right now. _Okay…that's not strange at all…_

She stood and stared at him for a while. "Why were you following me?!" She eventually asked.

Beck shifted uncomfortably under her gaze while he thought of something decent to say. "Well what were you doing in the Outlands all by yourself?" Beck asked, smirking under his mask.

His question took her aback. "I…I just don't like trains. Going through the Outlands seemed like a good option for me."

"You realize that there's a road?"

She groaned. "There's a road? Wow, why didn't I realize that?" Beck frowned. She really didn't know that there was a road. _She actually thought that Argon was __**that**__ remote?!_

She stared at him for a while longer. "You followed me for a reason. What are you? A warden who watches over the Outlands to see if any weakling needs help?" Beck was about to answer but she held up a hand. "Don't answer that!"

She rezzed her bike again and looked at him again. "And…don't follow me again!" He couldn't help but notice the anger and irritation she had in her voice. "It's…almost creepy!"

She drove away without looking back. Beck kicked the ground with his boot and smirked, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Now, I'm going back to the hideout to tell Tron: 'I told you so!' Why does he never listen to me?"

He pulled out his baton, but stopped and stared when he saw the poster. It said that Paige was wanted again. It wasn't explained **why** she was wanted, it just said that she was a traitor to Clu. "Huh, wonder where Paige is now." Beck rezzed his bike and headed back to the hideout.

…

Paige slept well, but it wasn't peaceful. She had the nightmare several times during the night. Clu had her prisoner and he kept slashing her with his disk (especially in her left arm like before), torturing her, and beating her continuously. It was awful. It was hard to wake up. It was terrifying.

Thankfully, Paige didn't scream anytime during the night. She was silent, which made it even worse for her that she couldn't get the sound of her misery out.

When she finally woke up to the sound of knocking on her door, she sat up and rocked forward and backward, telling herself that it was just a bad dream and none of it was real. Even that didn't reassure her.

Her left arm was throbbing from the injury it had before. Paige looked at it for a moment, but her vision was still mildly blurry, so she couldn't get a good look at it. _I thought I fixed this! Why is there still a reminder that it was there?! There should be no trace!_ Paige shook her head in confusion and stood up.

_Whoa! Too soon! Got up too soon!_ Her head felt dizzy and empty so she plopped back onto the bed. Emi knocked on the door. "Paige, are you okay?"

Paige looked at the desk next to her bed. It also had an 'Unlock' button. Paige pressed it to let her in. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…had a bad dream."

Emi walked into Paige's room raised an eyebrow in concern. "It must've been bad."

Paige looked up at her. "Why? How is it showing?"

Emi inhaled sharply and sat down next to Paige on the bed. "For starters, your eyes show fright." Paige frowned. "Next, your bed's a mess, showing that you've been thrashing out a lot." Paige glanced at the sheets that are now tangled up. "And…" She looked at Paige's left arm. Her eyes widened. "What happened to your arm?!"

Paige didn't expect that question. "What?" She glanced at her arm, which showed a new injury that she never had before. "There used to be an injury in that very spot, but I fixed it! Why is there another one?! I didn't get hurt during the night time…did I?"

Emi pursed her lips and looked around. She fixed her eyes on the side table, then her eyes flickered down to the floor, which now had several stray pixels scattered. "You must've hit it really hard off the side table last night. It's a rational explanation for your…new injury."

Paige sighed, drawing her disk and accessing her code to fix the damage. Emi got up and cleaned the pixels up off the floor. Emi grabbed her walkie-talkie and made sure it was on channel one. "Hey, Dallas! Paige and I are going to be several nanos late. We…" She looked around the room. "We had a little…inconvenience."

The talkie was silent for a while, and then a static sound came out. "Okay. Don't take too long. You guys need to be downstairs in 10 nanos, max!"

Emi put the walkie-talkie away and started tidying up Paige's bed. "We have 10 nanocycles at the most before we have to get downstairs." Emi looked at Paige and smiled. "I'm supposed to explain protocols and so-fourth to you this cycle while we're working. For starters, if there's a problem, your running late, or any kind of inconvenience, you report it to Dallas immediately!"

Paige nodded. "Got it."

Emi grinned. "Good. Now grab your talkie and anything else you might need and let's get down to the main floor. We don't want to be late! Even though we technically are!" Paige smiled a little. Emi seemed like a very good friend already. Kind and caring, funny and humorous, and very smart.

Paige followed Emi out of her room and the door slid shut behind them. Paige typed in her combination to lock her door again and then followed Emi into the elevator. During the ride down, it stopped on floor 3. Emi grinned. "Nice! We're riding with Jay the rest of the way down!"

Paige lifted an eyebrow. "What? Who's Jay?"

The doors opened to reveal a handsome (but not Paige's type) guy. He grinned at Emi. "Jay's here!" He shouted.

Emi giggled. "Yes you are!" She smirked at Jay. "You're running late too?"

He nodded and looked at Paige. "Another Noob?"

Emi elbowed him playfully. "Be nice to Paige, Jay! She's my new best friend!"

Jay grinned at Paige and held out a hand. "Hello, Paige. I'm Jay and I'll be working on the field with Emi and…you?" Paige nodded and shook his hand. Jay grinned. "Well then, let's see what you're capable of on your first day."

Paige smirked. They all thought that this is her first time ever being a medic. She shrugged. _Maybe I just look younger again with this appearance?_ It was only her old haircut and medic uniform that she changed back to normal like it was back before Tesler found her.

"Alright, Jay," Paige began. "I'll show you what I can do."

…

Ally woke up and smiled. _This cycle will be awesome!_ She got up and out of bed to look in the mirror. She remembered taking her mask off last night before she went to sleep.

She frowned and her eyes widened when she saw her appearance. Her eyes glowed brighter, but other than that, her eye color remained unchanged. Her outfit was still in disguise. Ally drew her disk and changed it back to her Alpha Uniform.

_What to do this cycle. First thing: Put on your mask and go look for Chad._ Ally's mask slid back over her face and she walked out the door. _Where is Chad's office?_ Ally scanned the hallways, but didn't know where it was. She walked around a little more and shrugged. _I'll find him later._ She turned and entered the Medical Center.

She stopped and grinned when she saw Chad talking to another medic. Ally ran over to Chad and tackled him. "Chad! Oh my gosh! I've missed you so much!"

Chad looked surprised to see her at first, then he chuckled and patted her shoulder. "Missed you too, Alpha. We need to talk in privacy."

Ally got off of Chad and let him lead her to where his office was. When she got inside, Chad shut the door and leaned against his desk. He sighed and looked at Ally. "Al, I know what you've been doing in Argon while you were in hiding."

Ally gasped. "Sky, that traitor! He told you didn't he?!"

Chad frowned and shook his head slowly. "No…Skipper didn't tell me. It was all over the Alert System!"

Ally groaned and smacked the back of her head against the wall. "Well I never got caught. I got away every single time."

Chad shook his head. "But you were supposed to be hiding, not skipping through the city drawing attention to yourself every time you round a corner! What part of 'going into hiding' did you not understand?!"

Ally shrugged. "All of it." She answered.

Chad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How's your mental status?"

"Oh for crying out loud, Chad! I thought you forgot about that!"

"Well, I did for a while, but now you're stepping out of line a little bit. I think it has something to do with your mental problems."

"I HAVE NO MENTAL PROBLEMS! I'm fine!"

Chad lifted a hand to calm her down. "Easy now, you don't have to shout." Chad stood up and rested a hand on Ally's shoulder. "We don't have to test if you don't want to. It's not bad enough to require it."

Ally sighed with relief. "Thank you! I knew you'd eventually realize that I'm not crazy."

"Dear Alpha, of course you're not crazy. I never said you were. I said that you simply might have some minor mental problems."

"That's just another way of saying that I'm crazy or psycho!"

Chad sighed. "Listen Alpha, the point is: You have to keep yourself under the radar and try not to attract attention to yourself."

Ally nodded. "If we're done here…then can I leave?"

Chad nodded. "You're dismissed. Go about your business."

Ally saluted Chad and walked out of his office. _Now that I think about it, I guess I never really missed him._ Ally rolled her eyes under her mask and headed for the Medical Center again. She nodded at the black guard at the door, who immediately let her pass and she walked through the door and into the hospital.

It was a mess. There was equipment scattered across the floor, there were lots of patients that needed urgent care, and there weren't many nurses in the hospital. Ally ran over to one. "What's happened?! I was only gone for several cycles! Now I see patients in critical condition."

The medic shrugged. "I don't know, Alpha. Some of our best medics are missing. I don't know what's going on."

Ally frowned. "Well I'm here now. Let's start with the patients that are in the worst condition." Ally and the rest of the medics got to work and started with the most injured patients and worked their way to the less urgent ones.

It took a long time, but when they were done, Ally cleaned the tools off of the floor while the nurses walked around, making sure that all the patients were stable.

Ally sat down next to another medic taking a break. "Um, I heard that there were medics missing. What happened?"

She looked at Ally with a confused look, but then realized that she wasn't there the whole time. "Oh, right. You went into hiding for a while. I thought Chad explained what happened. That's why he wanted to speak with you, right?"

Ally shook her head. "No, it must've slipped his mind."

The medic sighed. "Right after you fled with Skipper, we sent out a squad of guards."

"The ones you sent without disks?"

"Yes, we couldn't risk having them captured and letting Clu find out all of our plans and secrets. Anyway, the guards didn't hold them off very long, and that's when Clu's forces raided the area and ransacked the rooms and offices for our plans and information."

Ally frowned. "Did they find programs that didn't get out in time?"

She nodded. "Clu found some of our medics that didn't evacuate in time and took them hostage. They're either dead now, repurposed, or they're still being held captive."

Ally frowned. "I feel bad. I wasn't there to defend those medics that were captured."

The medic sighed. "Oh, Alpha. None of it was your fault. Besides, we had to get you out of there otherwise you would've been captured too."

Ally nodded. "I suppose you're right."

The medic's eyebrows arched with concern as well. "And, dear me, Alpha! When was the last time you had a shot of energy?!"

Ally glanced down at her dull, slightly faded neon green circuits. "Um…five cycles ago?"

The medic got up and walked over to an energy dispenser. "You need energy to keep going, pronto! I'm actually amazed that your system didn't fail you after at least five cycles without it! Usually, your system would quit on you after three cycles without energy." The medic held out the glass to Ally. "Drink, now."

Ally smirked. "Okay, take it easy. I'll go to my room and…recover from my lack of nutrition." The medic nodded. Ally turned and left the Medical Center and heading for her room.

The door opened and closed noiselessly behind her and she sat down on the bed. Ally removed her mask and rubbed her eyes. _What's the Grid becoming?_ She stared blankly at her energy drink. "Maybe I should talk to Evelyn about this. She's always been a good friend. She might know what I can do."

Ally stood up. "Oh, forgot my drink." Ally sipped the glowing blue liquid until the glass was empty. She put on her mask and left her room, carrying her glass back to the Medical Center where she got it.

She dropped off the glass and walked up a set of stairs to the exit. When she got outside, she immediately started running, but she didn't see Sky. The moment she rounded a corner, she crashed right into him. "Ahh!" Ally landed on her bum on the ground. "Sorry, Sky."

He sighed and got up. "It's okay, I felt sleepy. You woke me right up." He grinned and offered her a hand to help her up. Ally gladly accepted. "What's the rush, where are you going?"

Ally shrugged. "Just wanted to go for a walk. Then I can go blow off some steam in the training room or something."

"Oh, is it okay if I join you?"

"Of course you can join me. You have to the right to go where you wish."

Sky smirked. "I'm actually surprised that Chad let you go for a walk alone…or were you trying to escape?" He lifted an eyebrow.

Ally giggled. "Actually, I didn't tell Chad that I was leaving. I just walked out the door."

"More like: 'you **ran** out the door'." Sky chuckled.

Ally pushed him playfully. "Must you twist my words?"

Sky grinned. "I'm only speaking the truth; what **really** happened."

Ally looked at her surroundings and took off her mask. Whenever she went somewhere new, everything looked the same. She sighed. "I've got to know the streets of Argon better. This is a labyrinth to me."

Sky shook his head, grinning. "That's why I carry I map." He pulled out the holographic map and studied it. "We are here." He gestured to an area on the map with his finger. Ally nodded.

He pointed to another spot on the map. "Base is over there. So if we walk in that direction." He pointed a finger down another alley. "It should be a straight shot back." He looked at Ally quizzically. "We are heading back now, right?" Ally nodded. And followed him in the direction he pointed at.

Ally, with her mask still off, walked next to Sky down the road. "You know, I think I should admit that you're the first program in the Resistance Movement that I actually think is fun and well behaved at the same time. You're a great friend."

Sky smiled at her. "Thank you, Alpha. That… really means a lot to me."

Ally grinned at him. "You're welcome."

Sky looked at her and lifted an eyebrow. "Am I also the **first** program in the Resistance Movement that you actually showed your face to?"

Ally pursed her lips and shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

Sky rolled his eyes. "Wow, I feel so **privileged**."

Ally elbowed him. "You should."

Sky chuckled. "Come on, I'll race you to the training room."

Ally grinned and put on her mask. "I accept your challenge."


	2. A small Surprise

**Hey everyone! :) I finally got chapter 2 up. Sorry it took me a while. I think I'm going to get started right off the bat with a new character. (A.K.A.: The girl that Beck saw in the Outlands) Try to guess who and what that girl is. I guarantee that at least one of you will get it right. ;) I was thinking of giving you guys faster updates by taking Paige out of the chapters for a while. (We'll check up on her every once in a while. Remember, she's supposed to be living a normal, happy life. Not much will be going on for her until she sees Sky later on and that will be a while) Anyways, Enjoy this chapter! This is a big one.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"Can you at least describe what she looks like? Her personality?" Tron asked.

Beck nodded. "Her circuitry is a little hard to describe. Primary is white, and secondary is a teal/turquoise color. I'm not sure if I'll be able to effectively describe the patterns. And…can you just look at my disk?"

Tron sighed. "I'm trying to help you with your description skills. You really need to work on that." Beck frowned at him. Tron rolled his eyes. "Fine, just hand me your disk."

"Thank you." Beck drew his disk and held it out to Tron. Tron activated Beck's recent memory and watched.

Tron lifted an eyebrow when he saw the outfit she was wearing. "Oh, now I understand why it's hard to describe."

Her circuitry designs were the same as any citizen, but the primary white circuits faded into the teal/turquoise secondary colors. The two colors faded into one another several visible times all over her suit. "Her circuitry is different from the average program."

Tron continued watching and raised an eyebrow when he noticed how much attitude she had. "Her personality is almost…familiar. But her circuitry is very…unique." Tron deactivated Beck's disk and handed it back. "It looks like things are about to get more interesting. I need to think. There's not much you can do to help at the moment."

Beck nodded. "Okay then. I'm just gonna…hang out with Zed and Mara then, if you…don't need my help."

Tron nodded and pulled up the big screen. "Yeah, go hang out with your friends before I have to call you back."

Beck walked into the elevator silently and the doors closed behind him. He pursed his lips when he thought of something that he could do with Zed and Mara. _Go for a walk? It's casual and we can talk in peace and quiet. Away from anyplace where there would be trouble._

Beck smiled. He was glad to have some more free time to spend some quality time with his friends.

…

"This is all we do? We just sit down and wait for an emergency?" Paige asked.

Emi shook her head. "No, not really. We're going to scour the city in an ambulance. We have to be out and about if we want to the first to respond to any kind of accident."

Jay rolled his pale blue eyes and smiled. "You know, it's the basics."

Emi playfully punched his arm. "You're mean today! Or are you feeling something for Paige?" She bit her lip and smirked.

Jay looked at Emi and grinned. "No! Of course I don't feel anything for Paige!" Paige studied Jay's face. He seemed to be having trouble keeping eye contact with Emi.

It was Paige's turn to smirk. _If I didn't know any better, I'd think Jay and Emi had feelings for each other._ "Should we get into the ambulance now?" Paige asked.

Emi nodded, her light, blonde curls of hair bobbing up and down with her head. "Right, let's get going." Emi looked at Paige with her dull, grey eyes. "Oh, by the way, Jay's not one of the weirdoes."

Paige nodded. "Yeah, I can tell. He's more like a 'I'm-too-cool-for-you' kind of guy." Paige stole a glance at Jay. _He probably likes to take pride in that loose, choppy cut of dark brown hair and those lighter brown highlights._

Emi grinned at Paige. "Oh yeah? Well, he's not too cool for me. And that's a fact."

Paige nodded and followed Emi into the small truck. "Yep, you're definitely right." Emi sat down next to Jay, who was in the driver's seat. Jay started the ambulance and started driving around the city.

Emi turned and looked at Paige. "It's usually a busy City. There are lots of accidents all the time. There are crashes, fights, terrorism…" Paige flinched at the word 'terrorism'. It reminded her of the Renegade. "Paige, you listening?"

Paige came back to reality and nodded. "Huh, looks like the noob needs to wake up." Jay said. He slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel. Paige let out a startled sound and almost jumped out of her seat. Jay laughed. Paige glared at Jay. "Oh lighten up, Paige. If you want to show me what you're capable of on the field, you need to be wide awake."

Emi leaned closer to Paige. "He does have a point, you know." Paige nodded. Emi frowned. "Sorry if Jay seems like a jerk. He's a really good friend if you get to know him well, though."

Paige shook her head. "No. Trust me, I've had worse coworkers."

"How bad?" Jay asked.

"Bad enough to try and kill you in your sleep." Paige sat back and looked at Jay's expression in amusement. "I'm actually surprised her didn't try to murder me in my sleep. Of all the bad stuff he did to me." Paige straightened up. "But I'm here now, and that's the past. He doesn't know where I am."

Jay lifted an eyebrow at Paige. "If I didn't know any better, I'd assume that you were Wanted or something." He and Emi giggled.

Paige smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not a troublemaker." She leaned in closer to Jay. "Unless I have a good reason." Jay's eyes widened and he stared straight ahead. _Okay, maybe I'm beginning to scare him._ Paige grinned. "Oh lighten up, Jay. I was only kidding around. I've still had bad coworkers so, you don't bother me much."

Emi giggled. "You two have a lot in common. Who knows? Maybe you two will get along famously after all!"

Paige grinned and hooked her arm around Jay's shoulders. "Yeah. The three of us will be best buddies." She smiled at Jay. "Right?"

Jay laughed. "Of course!" A lightcycle came out of nowhere and cut off the ambulance. "Ahh!" Jay slammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel again. His hair flew into his face for a moment. They managed to dodge lightwall that the bike made, but Paige got jerked out of her seat, and crashed through the windshield.

"Paige!" Jay and Emi yelled. Emi opened one of the doors and jumped out, running over to Paige and helping her back up. Jay followed after recovering too.

Paige opened her eyes, remarkably unharmed. She sighed with relief. _Perhaps joining the Occupation for training wasn't such a bad idea after all._ Paige sat up with Emi's help, feeling slightly dizzy from her incident. "Uh, I assume that was a terrorist?"

Jay nodded blankly. "Yep. That jerk hates it when the hospital comes and saves his victims before he can finish them off."

Paige stood up and lifted an eyebrow. "What does he look like?"

Jay shrugged. "Well, he's just a creep with dull grey eyes, white hair. His primary circuits are blue-white, designed like a gangster's. His secondary colors are purple." Jay chuckled. "It's hard to take him seriously…until he has a disk pressed against your throat."

Paige lifted her eyebrows. She was thankful that he wasn't talking about Cyrus. And he's clearly failing to try and scare her with the whole 'we-have-psychopaths-wandering-the-City' thing. She smirked. "I got kidnapped twice by a dangerous sociopath named Cyrus."

Jay lifted his eyebrows. "Who's he?"

Paige leaned closer to him. "Someone that you won't want to meet. He has light lines all over his face and you can see the crazy in his eyes."

Emi shuddered. "Even the description sounds creepy."

Jay got up. "I think I'm done listening. We should get back to the ambulance and get going again."

Emi nodded. "Yeah, let's go." She grabbed Paige's arm and helped her back to the ambulance.

Paige got back into her seat and tightly secured her seatbelt. She wasn't going to take any chances. As Jay and Emi got back into the ambulance too, Paige got curious. "So, what's that terrorist's name?"

"His name is Frank." Emi said bluntly. Jay looked at her and they made eye contact, then they started laughing. "Oh my gosh! That name is so hard to take seriously!" Emi said between giggles.

Jay chuckled. "Yeah." He checked his watch. "This has been a very strange cycle. We've received no reports of incidents, we've seen no incidents…besides the one with Frank a few nanos ago, and our shift is almost over."

Emi nodded blankly. "It's been a very strange cycle indeed." She glanced back at Paige. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Paige smirked and waved a hand in dismiss. "Yeah, just…shaken up, I suppose." She grinned at her two, new best friends. "It's not every cycle you get thrown out of a windshield."

Emi giggled. "Right, we'd…better report that to Dallas." She batted her pale, grey eyes at Jay.

Jay chuckled. "I'm betting that she's gonna break some desk buttons again."

Emi smirked. "I'm betting that she's gonna slap you for being a terrible driver and allowing Paige to crash through the windshield."

Paige laughed nervously. "Ya know, we can keep this between the three of us. You know, for Jay's sake."

Emi grinned. "Fine. Paige and I will let this one slide." Emi looked straight ahead and gave Jay a mischievous grin. "For now."

Jay sighed. "Emi, must you always bend the odds to your will like that?"

Emi leaned back in her chair and smirked. "Yes, I must."

Paige rolled her eyes and smiled. _You crazy bunch._ She leaned back in her chair and waited to get back to the hospital. When they arrived, they parked the ambulance and got out. Emi turned and looked at Paige. "Hey. Jay and I are going to head to the club later. Do you want to join us?"

Paige smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course I would."

Jay flinched. "What?! But…Emi you shouldn't just-" Emi interrupted him by grabbing Jay's suit and yanked him towards her, silencing him with her lips pressed against his. Jay looked like he was in dream land. Paige smirked. _I knew they liked each other._

Emi eventually pulled away from him. Jay recovered and still tried to protest. Emi placed a finger against his lips, silencing him again. "Shhhh." Emi said, smiling seductively at him. "Paige is part of our group now. We can all get along," Emi glanced at Paige and nodded. "Right?" Paige smiled and nodded. Jay eventually nodded too.

Emi smiled and started walking back into the hospital. Jay sighed. "Man, I never would have dreamed that she had feelings for me like that." He smiled at Paige. "You know what, maybe we can all get along."

Paige nodded and walked over to Jay, patting his shoulder. "I agree." She held out her hand to shake. "Let's stop trying to creep each other out, right?" Jay nodded and shook Paige's hand. Then they turned and ran to catch up to Emi.

Jay coughed up and held out his hand for Emi to take. She smiled at him and intertwined their fingers. Paige sighed and smiled. _Awww…they're so cute. They'll make a good couple._ Paige thought as she followed them into the hospital.

It felt nice to have a normal life again. She forgot how good it felt to hang out with some friends, have a job as a citizen, and to actually sit back and not ruin any more lives. She sighed. _I'm not going back to Clu again. Not ever._

…

Ally grinned at Sky by the entrance of the training room. She'd beaten him, which was no surprise. After all, she was **special**. _Or…_ Ally stopped and narrowed her eyes. _He probably let me win…_ Ally raised an eyebrow at Sky when he finally arrived at the entrance.

Ally folded her arms at him and smirked playfully at him under her mask. "You let me win…didn't you?"

Sky stopped and stared at her, panting. "What? Why would I do that? I swear, you're **fast**! How do you do that?"

Ally shrugged. "I don't know. But it looked to me like you didn't even try your hardest to beat me."

"I did too!" Sky protested, smiling a little. _That was a dead giveaway._

Ally smirked and narrowed her eyes at him, even though he couldn't see at the moment. "Your sly grin betrays you, dear Skipper."

Sky chuckled. "Okay, I let you win." He stopped and turned towards her again. "Hold on, since when did you call me Skipper. You nicknamed me 'Sky'. I liked that name better."

Ally giggled. "That was the point. I just wanted to say something that you might find a little annoying."

Sky made an obviously sad face. "Why?"

Ally giggled again. "Because I find it annoying when I compete against someone who doesn't even try to win. It's not fun."

Sky sighed. "Fine, I'll try from now on. I thought you'd be happy to win."

Ally shrugged. "Well, I was at first. Then I noticed that you didn't even try. You let me win on purpose." She elbowed him as she walked into the training room. "You'd better give more effort in the training room."

Sky sighed again. "Fine."

Ally grinned. "Good." She walked over to a panel and pulled out a flash drive. She plugged it into the control panel and pushed a few buttons.

"What are you doing?" Sky questioned. Ally shrugged and walked over to him inside the simulation ring.

"I'm using something…different for our simulation."

Sky raised an eyebrow. "And what is this **different** thing for our simulation." Sky stopped. "Wait…isn't someone else supposed to be operating our simulation? Otherwise we're going to be stuck inside a non-stop training simulation until someone shuts it down."

Ally nodded and patted Sky's shoulder. "That's a point."

Sky's expression was priceless. "Wait…what?!" He looked down. "And right after my ranking got higher. I just got promoted to Lieutenant!"

Ally laughed and patted Sky's shoulder again. "Relax. I was joking. That flash drive has everything under control. It's a **smart drive** more specifically. It programs and reprograms our simulations to our training level properly, it ends it when we complete the training level or if we get derezzed, and…" Ally turned her head towards Sky and removed her mask, showing off her grin. "This small device is very creative." She grinned. "Oh, and congratulations. You're no longer a black guard."

"What?" Sky asked.

Ally sighed. "Your promotion."

"Oh, thanks." Sky smiled. The simulation ring went dark for a moment…then illuminated inside the big old base that used to belong to Tesler. Sky looked around, he was inside a cramped closet, but Ally wasn't with him. _Moved to a different part of the ship? As a little twist?_ Sky guessed.

He sighed. _How did Alpha get ahold of such a device?_ Sky wondered as he opened the closet door and slipped outside…only to be spotted by a squad of guards immediately. **"Halt Program! Surrender immediately!"**

Sky sighed. "I should've listened through the door for noise in the hallway." Sky drew his disk and kicked the first guard that got close. He had to admit that this simulation was challenging…and he liked it. but it was almost more than he could handle. He realized that when one came up to him from behind and somehow managed to pin him to the wall.

Just when he was about to be derezzed, Ally swung out of nowhere and kicked the guard holding his disk, knocking him out. It was impressive, really it was. Sky recovered and smirked after they beat the first wave of guards. "What took you so long and where were you for the first half?"

Ally laughed and flipped her hair, which was now visible because she wasn't wearing her mask. "I was dealing with **my** group of soldiers."

Sky was confused. Ally sighed. "We were automatically separated to deal with our own group of soldiers for the first part of the simulation. The smart drive tries to make this simulation impossible to beat, but I intend to somehow beat it." She turned to Sky and grinned. "Maybe with your help, I can finally accomplish my personal goal."

Sky whistled. "Well I know for sure that Occupation soldiers…even Clu isn't this hard to fight."

Ally laughed, her glowing green eyes seemed to sparkle a little. "I told you it would be challenging."

Sky looked around. "Um, why aren't we being attacked? Is there a glitch?" He looked at Ally. "I swear, if there's a glitch, I'm going to blame all of this on you."

Ally shook her head. "No, we're supposed to continue down this hallway." She pointed in the direction they're supposed to go. "Here's how this simulation works. This is organized in waves which are groups of soldiers or rounds. Each wave gets harder each time. Eventually, you're not fighting groups of soldiers, but Clu's generals. The simulation automatically ends if you get derezzed, or if you somehow manage to beat Clu in the end."

Sky whistled. "I'm impressed by the design." He looked at her. "How did you do it?"

Ally shrugged. "I had some help from our brainy friend. Well, he did it all, actually."

"Ah, Google." Sky chuckled. "Now I'm not surprised. Google's a good program, very smart. I figured you'd become friends with him."

Ally nodded. "He's very nice. And he's the one who invented the smart drive. He gave it to me for simulation uses and more."

"Wait, it can do more?"

Ally dismissed it. "I'll explain that later. There's a reason it's called a smart drive." Ally smirked and started walking down the hallway. "Now, are we going to keep talking, or are we going to continue onto Wave 2? Because if this was real life, we would've been attacked by now."

Sky smirked and kept his disk activated and in hand. "Let's move forward!"

Ally giggled and started running through a door and into another room. It was sort of obvious of where to go. You just keep going straight ahead through the hallway.

Ally and Sky ran through a door and into another room. The door closed automatically behind them and locked. There was no turning back.

Sky stared in shock at all the guards and sentries that surrounded them. All he saw were programs wearing orange. "Um, how far do you usually make it?" Sky asked.

Ally drew and activated her disk as the guards drew closer. "Uh, Dyson always kills me."

He nodded and started fighting. Sky and Ally split up to divide their share of soldiers. Ally defeated her group and then ran over to assist Sky, who was having some trouble. A guard slashed his arm with his disk and he got pinned against the wall again, which was exactly when Ally once again jumped in to save him again.

"You're not used to this much of a challenge, are you?" Ally asked as they started fighting the soldiers again.

Sky shook his head. "This flash drive-or whatever you call it-hates me!"

Ally giggled. "It's just following its programming, like us programs do."

They defeated all the guards in Wave 2, then continued onto Waves 3, 4, 5, 6 (Which was when they both got to fight General Tesler), and then they eventually got to Wave 9. "This is the one when we get to fight dear old Dyson." Ally commented.

They walked through the door, which shut and locked behind them and they looked around. "We're supposed to be taken by surprise." Ally said, sounding bored.

Sky scanned the room carefully. "What? Does he jump out and scare us or something?"

Ally shrugged. "Yeah, sort of. He jumps out from a new hiding place every single time. Sometimes, the smart drive will change the location. I once did these waves in Argon Square."

Sky nodded. Suddenly, Dyson jumped out from behind a crate, which wasn't what Sky was facing. "Sky, look out!" Ally shouted just in time for Sky to turn around and block Dyson's lethal blow. Ally ran over and got involved in the fight.

After a few nanos of dodging punches, kicks, and Dyson's deadly disk (which was attached to an energy rope), Dyson threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared.

Sky was panting. "See? This flash drive is always targeting me to die. And then you have to swoop in and save my butt from derezzolution."

Ally laughed. "Yeah, I see that now. The smart drive hates you."

Sky looked at Ally. "What happens if I get derezzed during a round and you don't?"

Ally pursed her lips. "Then you get kicked out of the simulation until I die, or defeat Clu." Sky nodded and looked at Ally with a wry smile.

His eyes widened when he saw Dyson creep up behind Ally with his disk in hand. He would've laughed at the semi-funny creeping appearance that Dyson had if it hadn't startled him so much.

Ally caught on and immediately spun around with her disk, slashing Dyson deep through the torso. Simulation Dyson gasped and groaned, sinking to his knees. Ally and Sky watched Dyson's slow and painful derezzolution occur.

Ally just stared until he turned into a pile of cubes. "I can't believe that I actually beat him." Ally murmured, barely audible for Sky to hear, but only just.

He smiled and patted her shoulder. "Well done, Alpha." He looked around. "Where's the exit that leads to Clu?"

Ally looked around. "Where did Dyson jump out to attack again?"

Sky pointed to the crate Dyson was hiding behind the first time. "There, but…why? What's so important about a crate? Shouldn't there be a door?"

Ally shook her head and walked around the crate. "Where Dyson was is where the next exit is."

They walked around. There was no exit in sight. Sky sighed. "See? Now what do we do?"

Ally ignored him and stared at the crate, studying it. She eventually walked over to it and knocked on the box. It made a slight echoing noise, giving away the fact that it was hollow. Ally smirked. "That's…new and very creative." She glanced upward at nothing. "That smart drive is very smart. It doesn't just test your physical strength, it also tests your knowledge."

Sky nodded. "Yeah, no kidding. No one would expect a hidden door that leads to Clu would be part of a crate. But where on the crate is the door?"

Ally shrugged. "I don't know. Would you care to assist me, Lieutenant Skipper?"

He held up both of his hands in defense. "Whoa there, Alpha. Be civilized." He knelt down next to Ally and felt all the sides and edges of the crate for a door of some sort. There was nothing. He sighed. "Maybe it was some kind of…trick? From the smart drive?"

Ally shook her head. "No, I've done enough of these simulations to figure out this particular pattern." She shrugged. "I guess it's a form of cheating."

Sky frowned. "Wait, you told me that you never got past Dyson. How do you know that this is true."

She sighed. "First of all, Google told me that little cheat. Secondly, I found the exits before Dyson kills me."

Sky looked at the crate again and set his eyes on the top. "What about on top. Maybe there's a lid that comes off?"

Ally's eyes widened and she grinned. "Sky…you're a genius!"

He grinned and shrugged. "No, not really. It's actually kind of obvious."

Ally nodded. "Yeah." She and Sky felt around until Ally's fingers rested onto a hidden button. She pressed it and the lid popped open. Sky let out a startled cry and fell onto his butt.

Ally laughed. "You really aren't as brave as we both thought, are you?"

He slowly shook his head. "Apparently not. I'm a sad, sad program."

Ally nodded and patted his shoulder. "We all know that. It's okay, just let it all out."

Sky frowned and smacked her hand away. "Hey! I'm not a weakling!"

Ally folded her arms. "I know. Just consider that a little sample of my everyday life. That's actually how every program treats me every time they see me. You do that sometimes." She said accusingly.

Sky sighed. "Wow. I got to know you better than most programs in a matter of…" Sky frowned. "Seventeen cycles?" He looked at Ally. "And you worked with other programs for 10x that! Am I right?"

Ally nodded. "That's just about right." She frowned. _I knew Beck for twenty. This is all too familiar. Am I going to lose Sky too?_

"Alpha? Are you okay?" Sky asked. Ally snapped back to reality. He noticed that there was lots of stuff on her mind.

Ally cleared her throat. "Um, shall we descend?"

Sky nodded. "We shall." Ally and Sky peered down the dark hole. "We're gonna have to slide down this small, narrow chute on our butts."

Ally narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Sky cleared his throat. "I'm saying: We'll have to sit down and slide down the angled chute."

Ally frowned. "Awww…do we have to?"

Sky nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Ally groaned. "This is humiliating." She sat down on the edge and situated herself comfortably. Sky smirked and decided to have some fun. He rested his hand on her back and pushed her down the chute. She chuckled when he heard her startled cry. Then he heard her shout. "Lieutenant Skipper, I'll get you back for that!"

He chuckled and sat down on the top. "No, you'll forgive and forget." He smirked. "I'm betting on it."

He let go of the sides and whooped as he descended at a fast, exhilarating speed. "When he reached the bottom, he looked around. "Uh, Alpha?"

He suddenly felt a weight on his back and lost his balance, falling onto the ground. He twisted around to see Ally on top of him, smirking. "Hey! Let me up! I thought we were a team."

Ally giggled and got off of him. "I know, I was just getting you back for what you just did."

"Yeah, but I didn't think it would happen so soon." Sky commented as Ally helped him up. Sky looked around the dark, small room. "Now what?" He asked.

Ally threw her hands up. "You think I know? I never made it past Dyson before!" She looked around too. It was so dark it was nearly impossible to see your hands in front of your face. Eventually, she saw a door. "I'm guessing that's the door we're supposed to go through."

Sky shrugged and nodded. "Then let's try it." He followed Ally to the door where they stopped.

Ally turned towards Sky and smiled. "After you?"

Sky shook his head. "Ladies first."

Ally laughed and playfully shoved him. "Fine, you coward!"

Sky frowned. "You don't have to be mean about it. You've always been more adventurous than me."

Ally nodded. "Touché." She opened the door and walked inside, followed by Sky. It was so quiet they could hear their own footsteps. Not to mention it was cold so they could see their breath, but at least it was a bit lighter than the other room.

Sky shivered. "If it was so hard to beat Dyson, I can't imagine how difficult it would be to defeat Clu."

Ally nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Me neither."

Ally felt someone poke her side. "Ah! Sky, stop that!"

Sky looked at her. "What? What did I do?"

Ally groaned. "You poked me."

"What?! No I didn't!"

Ally put a hand on her hip. "Oh yeah? Then who was it?"

Sky's eyes widened and he pointed to something behind her. "I think it was him."

Ally drew and activated her disk before quickly turning around, swinging her disk. Clu jumped out of the way at the last second. "I should've known that he'd toy with me like that!"

Sky drew and activated his disk too. "Yeah, me too." He threw his disk, which Clu skillfully dodged. Clu drew and activated his disk and threw it at Sky, which aggravated the injury he received earlier on his arm. Sky groaned and staggered backwards.

Ally gritted her teeth and swung her disk at Clu several more times. Clu easily dodged every single one of them. He laughed at her. "You're pathetic. You can't even hit me with your disk. You know what I see?" He grinned maliciously. "Defeat…" He said, his words full of cruelty.

Ally looked around, scanning for something useful, then she saw it. She looked back at Clu. _Good,_ She thought. _He's standing right where I want him._

Ally sighed. Then she glanced at the rope that secured a heavy, dangling anvil above Clu's head. "Hey, Clu!" She shouted. "You know what I see?" It was her turn to grin at Clu. "Your yellow, derezzed remains!"

She turned and threw her disk at the glowing energy rope, totally missing Clu's body. "Ha!" Clu shouted. "Your aim's gotten even worse! Face it, Alpha!" He smirked. "You've lost."

Ally smiled slightly as her disk severed the energy rope and releasing the anvil. Ally caught her disk and docked it, folding her arms and watching the anvil begin to fall. "Not yet." Ally said right before Clu looked up and screamed as the anvil dropped onto his head, derezzing him in the process.

Sky watched in amazement as the scene went down to that. "Whoa…" He stared at Clu's derezzed pieces. "Alpha…you did it! You beat Clu!"

Ally sighed and laughed a little. She shook her head and pointed at the anvil. "And I never would have thought that all it would take was a disk, a rope, and an anvil." She frowned. "Derezzing programs isn't fun."

Sky walked over and patted her shoulder. "But it's necessary to end the simulation, right?"

Ally nodded. "Yeah, that's how it goes."

Out of nowhere, a glowing door appeared and opened up. Ally pointed at it. "I think that's the exit."

Sky nodded. "Then let's go." He winced and looked at his arm. "Why do injuries here feel more realistic than normal simulations?"

Ally shrugged. "Because it's supposed to be like that." She gently took Sky's hand, leading him through the door and out of the simulation.

It was white for a moment, then it faded. When they opened their eyes, they were back in the simulation ring. Ally walked over to the panel, unplugging the smart drive and putting it back in her pocket. "How was that for a simulation?"

He sighed. "Too challenging." He walked over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder, smiling at her. "But it was fun." He leaned in and whispered. "I think that part with the anvil was both funny and very creative."

Ally giggled. "You think?" She walked to the exit. "I'm done for this cycle. How about you?"

Sky nodded. "Yeah, I need to go to my room and rest. And are you going to put your mask back on?"

Ally shook her head. "No I think it's fine. People can see my face. It was never really a big deal anyways." She turned and walked out of the room.

She marched down the hallway, heading to her room. But the moment she rounded the corner of a hallway, she was seized by several soldiers. "What are you doing?!" She asked.

"Your mental status shows that you're unstable. You have to be transferred to mental recovery until further notice." One of the guards answered.

_What?! How am I unstable?! Specials can't be mentally unstable! Flynn told me himself that I don't have mental issues!_ Ally started fighting and resisting the guards that were dragging her to the mental hospital. There was no way she'd be locked up in there without her putting up a fight.

All in all, no matter what she did, she ended up being pushed into a padded cell with the door locked behind her. Ally growled and started punching the wall in frustration. They never ran recent tests on her. Chad told her that she didn't have to, so she said 'no'. Her file never said that she was unstable before. _Someone hacked into my file._ She realized.

For all anyone knew, Clu could know where their base is. He could have one of his soldiers as an inside man. That inside man could've hacked into the files and changed her status. But in order to do that, they'd have to be a genius.

Ally's head hurt from so much thinking. If her mental status was changed to 'unstable', then they'd lock her up in the mental hospital. If she was locked in here, then she'd be vulnerable, unarmed. She had no weapons except her disk, which was locked. The soldiers had taken her grenades and other weapons before they locked her in here. She felt around her pockets aimlessly, then touched something. She smiled. _They didn't take my smart drive. At least I have that._

She was stuck in solitary confinement. No one gets in, no one gets out. No form of communication. No weapons. Ally was practically defenseless due to no weapons. No communications left her blind from the inside. And she had no idea how long she'd be stuck in this stupid, white padded cell.

She growled with frustration and sat down against one of the stupid padded walls. _Things have just gone from good to bad to worse._ She wasn't happy anymore. The first program that comes to visit her, is going to be the one she'll take it out on. Then she'll escape.

Ally rested her head against the wall. _I should've known better than to get so cozy with these guys. Now I'm paying the price of letting my guard down._

Ally's fists clenched. Her neon green medical circuits flared with anger. Her bright, green eyes glowed brightly. She looked around the room and formed a plan of escape. She smirked slightly, but not enough to show the monitoring camera. _Step one: Look mentally broken…_

* * *

**Okay, I decided to go right off the bat with bad luck fiercely whacking Ally. Having her locked up in a mental hospital is only part of the major twist I have in mind. I don't think any of you will see this coming. Feel free to guess though. ;) Some of you might guess correctly who that mysterious girl that Beck met is. Oh, by the way. I think it's important to share that I'm decisionally challenged, so I hold votes so you (the audience) can help me make decisions for my stories. I need to hold a vote whether or not I should write an AU story of Legacy with Beck and company. (Including Ally, Evelyn, Liz, Zoe,(maybe Courtney), Zed, Mara, Paige, Sky,(possibly Chad), Bartik, and Hopper(and maybe more)) Please tell me Yes or No in the reviews box. I promise not to get too involved with the "father/son" thing with Kevin and Sam if I do this book. It's important that I get these votes because I'm a very indecisive person. Good thing I'm not indecisive to say: TRON LIVES! ;) Toodles!**


	3. An Unexpected Betrayal

**Hi yah! This story's taking a wild turn and it's going to be _very_ action-packed. There's going to be a lot to take in for both you-the audience-and the characters themselves. XD Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Beck sat at the club with Mara. Zed was running late because Able asked him to work a bit longer.

He was wondering what was going through Tron's head when he saw the new girl. He thought he saw a flicker of recognition in Tron's eyes, but he's been wrong before.

"Beck?" Mara's voice interrupted Beck's thoughts. "You okay? You look like you were in deep thought." Mara grinned when her favorite song started playing. She stood up. "Come on! You should dance!"

That totally caught Beck off guard. "Wait, what? Um, Mara I'm not so sure I should-" Beck began to protest.

"Come on, Beck." Mara cut him off. "You've been tense lately. You need to lay back and have some fun!"

"But, Mara I-" Mara started dragging Beck onto the dance floor. Beck sighed, realizing it's pointless to argue against Mara. "Fine. Just for a little while."

Beck started out dancing like he wasn't used to it. And he really wasn't. Then he started getting a feel for it again. It's been a while since the last time he danced. He wasn't sure this was good. He was supposed to focus. He had tasks ahead.

"Beck! Mara! I'm here!" Beck sighed with relief. _I'm saved! Thank you, Zed I owe you big time!_ Zed ran over to them. "Sorry I'm late!"

Mara smiled at Zed. "It's okay. You're here now. Dance with me!"

Zed smiled as Mara pulled him onto the dance floor too. Beck managed to sneak back to the booth and watch his friends enjoy themselves. He really didn't have to just sit and watch. He wasn't going anywhere, and he was on a break. It was just a habit of standing on the sidelines and watching.

His mind wandered back to the topic of Paige. The wanted posters of her were still up so that meant she was still out there. _I hope Paige is okay._ Beck thought to himself.

He wondered if Paige really was against Clu, but no one ever realized it. He'd have to talk to Tron about that sometime.

Beck glanced around the club. He had an eerie, sickening feeling that he was being watched. And whoever was watching him wasn't friendly.

Mara and Zed, assumedly tired now from dancing, walked over and joined Beck. Mara looked at Beck and sighed. "I can't get you to relax anymore. That's just sad."

Beck shrugged. "Nah, I'm just…on edge. Could you blame me? Clu's in Argon now, and he's most likely going to stay a while longer. One slip up will-"

Mara placed her hand over Beck's mouth. "Beck. You. Worry. Too. Much. You need to calm down!" Zed stifled a laugh. Mara smiled. "We need to take your mind off of whatever you're thinking about."

Beck removed Mara's hand from his mouth. "I saw wanted posters of Paige." He said bluntly.

Mara frowned. "We did too, Beck."

Zed grinned. "Guess she realized what Clu was really like."

"Zed," Beck began. "We don't even know Paige's crime."

Mara bit her lip. "Hey guys," She changed the subject. "Remember when Alpha vandalized Argon Square?"

"Yeah." Beck answered. "Where are you going with this?"

Mara smirked. "A virus was discovered in all of the signs in the Square, thereby making it impossible at the moment to get rid of the signs' content or change it."

Beck chuckled. "You mean…they can't get rid of what she did?"

Mara shook her head. "Nope, it's stuck."

Beck laughed. "Let's go check it out."

Zed nodded. "Yeah, let's go visit Argon Square."

Zed, Mara, and Beck walked down the street together, heading for Argon Square. Gage, Perl, and the rest of their gang stepped out from the shadows. Gage looked at Beck and smirked. "What's up, Beck? Did you miss me?"

Beck's eyes widened. _Oh, I think I know who was watching me at the club._ Beck's shocked expression suddenly turned into a threatening scowl. "No. In fact, I didn't miss you at all."

Gage's expression didn't change. "Oooh. And I see you never lost your attitude either."

The rest of the gang stepped closer. Beck drew his disk and stepped between them and his friends. Gage saw this defensive mood and his eyes widened along with his malicious smile. "Oh, you guys know each other?" Gage grinned. "I had no idea. And this is making things more interesting."

Mara's eyes widened and she glanced at Beck. "You know him?!"

Beck sighed. "Yes, but I wish I didn't."

Gage chuckled. "Yeah, Beck and I go way back…don't we, Beck?"

Beck's scowl got even more threatening. "Yeah, but I want nothing to do with it anymore. So we're just going to leave and-" Gage swiftly moved right in front of Beck and nudged him backwards towards a wall.

"Whoa, what's the rush, Beck?" Gage's smirk didn't leave his face. "You can't just back out of this. Remember. 'Once a Crim, always a Crim.' Besides, we didn't even catch up after what happened. Right?"

Beck kept glaring at his nemesis. Mara frowned and shrank back against Zed as the rest of the gang closed them in and cornered them against a wall. "Beck, what's he talking about?"

Beck saw a flash of mischief in Gage's eyes. He pretended to look shocked. "What?! Beck, you naughty, secret keeping young program…why wouldn't you tell them?"

Beck clenched his fists. "Because I didn't think they knew you, and it was never really of their concern."

Gage displayed a familiar evil grin. "So, I suppose you never told them about your sweet little girlfriend. What was her name? Ally? I'll admit that she was a cutie. How did you come across and hook up with such a…perfect girl? Oh, by the way, have you, by chance, seen her around lately?" Gage and the rest of the gang started laughing.

Beck's scowl twisted into more than a threatening stare, it was pure hatred…and hunger for vengeance. Beck subtly lifted his fist, which shook dramatically with anger and punched Gage as hard as he could in the side of the jaw.

Gage stumbled and looked up at Beck, completely caught off guard by Beck's powerful attack. Gage glared at Beck and drew his disk. "That's it, you've asked for it now, Beck. And I don't think I'm going to spare your life this time."

Gage charged at Beck, who sidestepped effortlessly out of the way. Gage over calculated his charge and hit the wall, hard. He turned around quickly and swung his disk at Beck. Beck dodged and avoided Gage's disk with ease.

Gage tried to throw a punch, which Beck avoided. It was too late when Gage saw that his anger made him punch the air too hard and he hyperextended his arm. Gage groaned from the pain.

Beck saw an opening and he took it. Beck came up the Gage from behind and shoved him into a wall, face first. Gage grunted. "What're you going to do now? Derez me? You've always been a softie, unable to take one, puny little life."

Beck glared at Gage. "You're right, I don't derez programs." Beck placed a hand on Gage's right shoulder. "But this isn't derezzolution." Beck squeezed Gage's shoulder and let go of him altogether. Gage fell to the ground, unconscious. Beck just looked at the Crims leader. "Ally taught me that move. Consider it an act of act of justice for her with her regards."

Beck turned away from Gage and faced the rest of the gang. The large group of programs stood and stared at Beck in shock from witnessing Gage's defeat. Beck simply stepped forward and kept his eyes fixed on the other programs. Perl stepped backwards in fear. The others shrank backwards as well.

Zed and Mara just looked at Beck with mixed feelings. Shock, surprise, pity, quizzicality, and…fear. Beck looked at his friends and his hard expression softened. "We should go. I promise to explain everything." Mara and Zed carefully stepped away from the other gangsters and walked over to Beck, but kept a safe distance.

They kept walking until they were out of sight from the rest of the gang. Beck glanced at his friends with a guilty and regretful expression. "Hey, it's okay. I…just lost my temper. I'm sorry if I shocked you. It won't happen again. Do you forgive me?"

Mara nodded slightly and kept close to Zed as they continued their walk to Argon Square. Zed looked at Beck and nodded too. _Lots of Music and images on those screens will keep other programs distracted when I explain everything._

Beck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd cracked under Gage's taunting. He'd lost his temper and fought Gage. And he scared his best friends in the process. Beck felt very guilty. There was going to be a little awkward between them for a while.

Beck sighed. "I did not expect to see Gage in Argon. Of all the cities on the Grid."

Zed glanced at Beck. "You will tell us how you know him, right?"

Beck nodded. "Of course I will."

Mara looked at Beck with uneasiness. "When the time is right." Beck finished. He looked downward. "Let's just say that my past that involved Gage isn't a happy event to remember." Mara nodded and looked downward.

Beck looked at Zed. "How do you know Gage?" Beck inquired.

Zed smiled wryly. "Um, let's just say it involved Able's ENCOM 786."

Beck lifted an eyebrow. "How was that involved?"

Zed smirked and glanced at Mara. "We'll tell you when the time is right."

Beck laughed. "Ah, everything comes back to hit me this cycle. Why?"

Mara grinned slightly at Beck. "Maybe it'll be explained when the time is right."

Beck sighed. "You too? Why do you guys do this to me?" Zed and Mara grinned. "Never mind, I know what you'll say." The trio of friends laughed and walked down the road to Argon Square like nothing bad ever happened.

…

Ally had lost track of time of how long she'd been in the cell. Her back was stiff from sitting against the wall, so it had to be a while. She was starting to feel tired. She mentally snapped awake again when she heard the faint sound of footsteps.

She listened for a moment. They were getting closer. Whoever it was, the program was alone. She reacted when they got the loudest and stopped. "Time for step two." She whispered to herself.

_**Step 2: When someone is outside the door, hide and get ready to sabotage.**_ She jumped to her feet and ran to the door. She did a cartwheel and a few backflips and gained enough momentum to jump up and grab onto the patted wall above the door.

Her mask was still off. She heard a muffled sound of talking from behind the door. Ally narrowed her eyes and kept her eyes downward at the door. She had to admit that she was up very high. Her feet were dangling just above the top of the door, out of sight.

A few moments later, the door opened. She heard a gasp. "She's gone!" She immediately heard several more fast-paced footfall telling her that there were guards coming to investigate. _This is gonna be a close one._

Two black guards ran into her cell and looked around. "But, where'd she go?" One asked. The other shrugged.

_**Step 3: When the programs are right where you want them, attack!**_ Ally jumped down from her hiding place and landed on both of them, knocking them out flat. She turned and quickly dove through the door right before it closed.

She got up and blocked a few punches from the guards. She expected a fight. Then she used her pressure point technique to knock out the guards. She turned toward another program. He wasn't a black guard and he wore medical circuits. Ally frowned. _He's probably my psychologist._ He cowered and drew backwards. "Don't hurt me, please."

_**Step 4: When the guards are out of the way, unlock your disk and run to a hidden location.**_ Ally just walked over to the door's panel and unlocked her disk. "No, don't worry. Just be sure to tell Chad that I quit!" Then she turned and sprinted down the hallway. A few moments later, the alarm went off. Ally groaned. "These guys just don't give up. I really feel betrayed here." She muttered.

She turned sharply into another hallway and hid in a dark corner. She peeked into the open and saw several squads of guards run in the direction of the mental hospital. Ally turned and looked down the hallway she was in.

_**Step 5: When safe and hidden, forge a plan to get to bedroom for desired objects and supplies.**_ Ally scanned her surroundings carefully. Right now, her room was her designated location.

_If I go down this way and take a left turn, then a right, I'll get to my room._ She had a few objects and stuff of hers that she wanted to pick up before leaving. Ally glanced down the other hallway one more time before taking off down her designated one.

She finally reached her room without being seen and quickly slipped inside.

_**Step 6: Retrieve anything that's needed.**_ She immediately walked over to her drawer and took out her armband for her Occupation disguise. She walked over to her closet and walked inside, looking around.

She found an empty satchel hanging on the wall and grabbed it. Ally walked back over to her drawers and placed the armband inside the satchel. She reached into her pocket for her smart drive but hesitated. _Maybe I should keep it in my pocket._ She pulled her hand out and left it inside.

She opened up another drawer that contained the stuff she needed. There were lots of light tasers, smoke bombs, grenades, and even paint bombs. Ally shoved them all into her bag and opened another drawer.

Dozens of batons were neatly organized in sections of the drawer. She grabbed a light staff baton and attached it to her left calf, attached a light sword to her right calf, and then she clipped a light jet to her left thigh and a light cycle to her right. She tucked two extras of each baton into her satchel.

Ally then opened a very small drawer to reveal several syringes. _Sedatives._ Ally never really needed them, since she knew pressure points, she didn't have to sedate programs so she stored her syringes in this small drawer. But did she need them now? _Nah, I know pressure points. I don't need them._ Ally shrugged and closed the drawer.

Sedatives were very common in hospitals and militaries. Though they were very useful, Ally never needed them. She knew how to knock programs out without having to inject them with anything.

She sealed her satchel and slung it over her left shoulder, the bag rubbing against her right hip.

_**Step 7: Once everything needed is in possession, check for trouble outside and head straight of exit. Take detour if necessary.**_Ally then put on her mask and walked over to the door. She listened for any noise outside. It was clear. And the alarms were deactivated.

She opened the door and ran down the hallway for the main exit. She stopped before rounding the corner and peeked around.

_**Step 8: Be cautious when approaching exit.**_ To her surprise, the exit was empty. Either this is a trick, or they think she already got out and are sending out search parties.

Ally frowned. _It's probably a trick._ Ally was willing to take the chance though.

_**Step 9: If suspicious when approaching exit, arm yourself and carefully approach the exit. Don't let your guard down…ever!**_ She unclipped her light staff from her left calf and rounded the corner. She stalked towards the exit with her light staff baton in hand. She was ready for a fight if she got one.

Each careful step got her closer to the exit. She bit her lip and looked around carefully. The hallway was just too quiet. It made her suspicious. It was definitely a trick. Two could play at that game. She kept quiet, listening and watching for any signs of movement.

_I'm almost there. Just a few more steps…_ Ally heard something click. Her eyes widened and thought quickly of how to react. She did several flips toward the door and got into a fighting stance. She saw an object thrown towards where she was standing several moments ago. She looked closer. _A light taser…_ she realized.

Several soldiers came out of the shadows and surrounded her…but no one blocked her from the exit. _Idiots!_ Ally thought with a roll of her eyes. She sighed and placed a hand on her hip. "Does Chad know about this whole… incident?"

"Chad authorized your detainment, Alpha." One of the soldiers replied. The squad surrounding her started to close in.

Ally raised an eyebrow under her mask. "Did he get the message that I **quit**?"

_**Step 10: If confronted, attack.**_ She activated her light staff and started twisting it, whacking the guards that came at her until all of them were on the floor. Ally deactivated her staff and backed towards the exit. "So sorry about that." She said to the guards.

Ally turned towards the door and pressed the controls. It wouldn't open. Ally cursed and banged it with her fist. "Should've known that they'd pull something like that!" Ally stopped. _I can open this. I just hope that I have time._

Ally reached into her right pocket and pulled out the smart drive. "Thanks, Google." Ally smiled slightly and plugged it into the door panel. The smart drive projected several codes that Ally started rearranging. She sorted them until she heard an optimizing beeping sound.

Ally unplugged the drive and put it back into her pocket. She pressed the controls again and this time, the door opened, letting her through. Ally smiled. _I'm glad to have programs like Google._

Google was their smartest research engineer and technology mastermind. A.K.A.: The Tech Dude. He's a program who worked in the Resistance Movement for a while longer than Ally had. Google used to work under Tron also as a Tech Dude.

Unfortunately, after Clu took over and Tron was defeated, Google fled before he could be caught and repurposed. A while afterwards, he heard about the Resistance Movement and agreed to join. Many cycles later, Ally joined. They met and worked together for several assignments.

At first, their relationship as teammates was a bit uneasy, but they eventually came to like each other better. They later became best friends. Google liked to invent stuff and with a little of Ally's help, he created the smart Drive. He gave the first official product to Ally for usage if she ever needed it.

Google was the smartest program anyone would ever meet. He knew just about everything from basic knowledge to extreme science. Anything he didn't know, he'd work to figure out or find out. Some programs called him: The Search Engine.

Ally ran out of the HQ and out to freedom.

_**Step 11: Scan surroundings and make sure the coast is clear.**_ She looked around carefully, scanning for any noise or mysterious sightings; nothing. Ally unclipped her light cycle baton and rezzed her bike.

She headed for the docks. It's a great place to start. But a few moments afterwards, she noticed another bike tailing her. She groaned and turned on her light wall. _Why are these guys so persistent?!_

She had to admit that this rider was skilled. He caught up with her quickly. Ally lifted her mask and glared at her pursuer. "Alpha, wait!" The program lifted his mask too. Ally gasped. It was Sky. "Look, just pull over and we can just talk like civilized programs."

Ally narrowed her eyes. "Trust me." Sky insisted.

Ally frowned and then pointed a finger. "Fine. But if it turns out that you're just here to take me back to the facility, then I won't trust you ever again!"

Sky nodded. "That's fine. Just pull over. I wasn't planning on taking you back there anyway."

Ally pulled on her brakes. "Wait, what? You mean, you're not going to take me back there?"

Sky shook his head and stopped right next to her. "Nope. I know and understand that you don't want to go back there. Especially after everything that just happened recently back there."

Ally shrugged. "Yeah well, I was planning on leaving sooner or later. That's mainly why I didn't want to become the head figure of the entire Resistance Movement! I didn't want to become the leader or whatever I really was to them!"

Sky placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, it's fine." He derezzed his bike back into a baton and grinned at Ally. "Besides, I was going to ask whether or not you planned out where you were going to stay from now on."

Ally frowned. "I was in such a rush to get out that it never occurred to me then."

Sky smiled at her reassuringly. "Don't worry, I know a place."

Ally smiled. "Thanks." Sky started walking down the street. Ally turned her bike back into a baton and followed him. Sky walked through a labyrinth of roads and buildings and led her into a small, narrow alley with a dead end.

Sky stopped walking and folded his arms, facing the dead end. Ally eyed him curiously and walked over to the spot where the walls met. She felt around for a door, but there wasn't one.

Ally turned around to face Sky, laughing. "Okay, is this supposed to be a joke because I'll admit that that was kinda funny."

Suddenly, a bright light turned on and hovered directly over Ally. She shielded her eyes and looked up at the light's source. It was an Occupation helicopter. Ally gasped and looked at Sky, whose white circuits on his black guard uniform turned orange.

Ally saw black guards walking over to her from another chopper parked outside the alley. More black guards jumped out of the chopper with wing chutes. Ally was now surrounded completely by soldiers and they were all closing in quickly.

Ally wracked her mind and tried to think of a way to get out of this ugly situation. _**Scanning…**_ Ally held her breath. _**No plans created for such a scenario.**_ Ally growled in frustration. She thought she had every possible scenario planned out. First thing she will do on her free time is to make one for a scenario like this.

"What-" Ally began. She looked at Sky. "Why?" Sky's blank expression didn't change.

Several Occupation black guards grabbed Ally's arms and cuffed them behind her back. Ally struggled. "How could you do this?! I **trusted** you! And you **betrayed** me!" She yelled as they dragged her away.

Sky answered this time. "Because you're a threat to Clu. It was crucial to have you subdued, to make sure you wouldn't get in the way of Clu's vision of perfection."

Ally scowled. "And you actually **agree** with this…this **tyrant**!" Ally yelled.

Sky narrowed his eyes. "To serve Clu is a privilege. The system administrator will lead us to perfection."

Ally felt a sharp poke from behind. She started to feel tired. Someone was sedating her. Her legs suddenly felt like liquid and gave way beneath her. Her vision started to blur. And reality was beginning to slip away.

The soldiers began to drag Ally towards the chopper outside the Ally. Sky followed and helped them heave Ally into the helicopter. He turned towards another guard as the chopper began to leave the ground. "Send a message to Clu and tell him that we've captured Alpha and we're on our way to base." The program nodded and tapped in the message on a data pad.

Sky gripped Ally tightly on the chopper, making sure she wouldn't fall off. He was given specific and direct orders from Clu to bring her in alive and unharmed. Sky knew why. Clu had told him everything about Ally. He told him about her being a Special, her time spent with Flynn, her involvement in the ISO war, and so much more. He told Sky everything.

Sky knew it was important to deliver her to Clu safely. She was special. And Clu had plans for Ally. They were plans that could determine whether the Grid will become perfect, or if it will crumble to the ground.

* * *

**Yeah, I know. I'm being mean to Ally. I'll be honest, Sky turning his back on Ally is pretty much the major twist that I kept talking about. (But don't worry, I have more plot twists coming) I did say that no one would see it coming, didn't I? I wasn't kidding. Sky was one of my favorite characters and I felt bad for having him betray Ally, but I thought it would make things more interesting and cool. (Right, it's more cool to make Ally suffer and pay the price for actually trying to trust someone again XP) Anyways, Mara, Zed and Beck ran into Gage. (I told you guys that I'd get started right off the bat) Beck totally frightened his friends when he attacked Gage, but at least they're all trying to put that behind them. But I have a feeling that Ally isn't going to move past Sky's betrayal anytime soon. :(  
Wow, and I wasn't even kidding about faster updates now that Paige is out of the picture (for now). I'll try to update soon again. TRON LIVES! Toodles! :)**


	4. A Little Visit

**Hi guys...and gals! Sorry it took me so long to update. Happy fourth of July everyone! Figured I'd give you this one as a small present from me to you that I made during my FREE time. Haha! Just a Fourth of July joke. Anyways, here you go. I'm gonna pay more attention to my writing skills. My little brother says that I should make my characters come ALIVE. He says that they act like they're dead. That was hurtful. :(  
You guys have a look through here and see if the characters are more lively. I'm gonna see if there's anything else I can do.**

**FYI: I think I'm going a little stir crazy. My older brother thinks I should go to the men in the white coats. B|  
I slapped him for saying such things. XD**

**Anyways, ENJOY! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 4: A Little Visit**

Ally ignored the never-ending white abyss that surrounded her. She was more focused on Beck standing right in front of her. "Am I dreaming?" Ally asked, hoping she was wrong.

Beck frowned and gave her a sad look. "Yes."

Ally looked down and sighed. "So I'm really in the clutches of Clu. I wish all that was really a dream." Ally felt her insides twist and wrench painfully from the truth.

Beck looked at Ally with a determined and reassuring facial expression. "It's okay, you'll be fine. You're strong." He simply said. "Remember that. You and I both know what you're truly capable of. Put on a brave face and make it look real. Make it **feel** real."

Beck smiled at Ally. "You can do so much, make a difference."

Ally sniffled. Beck was starting to fade. "No, Beck." Ally stumbled, trying to get to Beck and hold him again. "Please, don't leave me alone. Not again."

Beck fixed his eyes on Ally, his expression blank. "You'll never be alone." Ally got to Beck. But the moment she touched him, he vanished completely. Ally sunk to her knees, shaking. She couldn't see Beck anymore, but his voice somehow still lingered. "Remember, I'll always be with you, always be a part of you, only if you accept it though, if you **believe** in it."

Ally made sobbing noises. Her eyes burned, but tears never came. Beck's voice still continued to linger. "And don't forget, even in dark times, you'll **always** have good friends looking out for you." Beck said one last thing. "I love you."

Ally shakily inhaled and let it out. "I love you too, Beck." Ally closed her eyes tight and everything went black.

Ally was hesitant to open her eyes at first, she was scared to face reality again, but she knew she had no choice. She would have to sooner or later.

She looked around to see she was lying on the floor of a holding cell, her stuff was taken. Her satchel and batons were gone…again, minus the fact that they left her smart drive in her pocket. That was all she had. Her mask was off as well.

Ally sat up. He hands were still cuffed. Ally rolled her eyes. _Sky really doesn't underestimate me anymore. Now I wish I didn't tell him how strong I really was and what I'm capable of._

Ally blew a strand of hair out of her face. _Wow. I'm bored already. I wish something interesting would happen already!_ Her head turned towards that door when it hissed open, revealing several black guards. She sighed and rolled her eyes. _Perhaps I shouldn't have wished for something to happen. Because this isn't what I had in mind._

The guards hauled her onto her feet and led her out of her cell. "Hey! What are you doing?" Ally asked. No one answered. She glared at one of the guards. "Where are you taking me?" Still no answer. She sighed, her frustration was building quickly. "Oh, I see, the silent treatment, huh?" She asked with a challenging tone. None of the guards responded.

They neared a door at the end of a hallway. She entered, still held by the guards and cuffed. She looked around the room. It was empty, except for two chairs in the middle of the room, facing each other and there was a small table that held her satchel and her four batons. There was a large window on one of the walls. She pursed her lips when she saw a figure looking out the window.

She studied the black attire and yellow circuits. She literally choked on her breath when the realization hit her that it was Clu. Ally attempted to back up, but the guards tightened their grip. Then the familiar voice echoed throughout the room. "Leave us." The guards immediately released their grip on her arms and left the room.

Ally narrowed her eyes. It was just her and Clu; otherwise there was no one else in the room. Clu turned around and smiled pleasantly at Ally. "Alpha, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Ally blinked and kept a straight face. "And I wish it was longer."

Clu chuckled. "I see you've become bold. You're no longer that shy, nervous…" Clu smirked. "Special."

Ally frowned. She really wished she wasn't still cuffed. "Just get to the point. I know you didn't summon me for small talk."

Clu smiled. "Actually, at the moment, I want to catch up. Where have you been for all those hundreds of cycles? I haven't even seen you since that little…incident in Gallium." Clu started to walk around her, examining her from head to toe. "You haven't changed much."

Ally straightened up. "Yeah, but it seemed you completely changed overnight. What made you hate the ISOs so much?"

Clu stopped and fixed his eyes on hers. "You don't understand, do you?"

"Not a clue."

Clu folded his arms. "The ISOs are imperfect. They don't have a specific duty, they have too much freedom. And too much freedom can lead to programs thinking they can do whatever they want. Besides, I was programmed to make perfection. And the ISOs don't even **look** perfect."

Ally felt like she got punched in the stomach. Clu had offended Evelyn, one of her best friends. "But there's always a reason behind actions and things that happened. Hating them is one thing, but genocide is completely another. You had no right to try and kill off an entire species." Ally said shakily. She truly knew Clu's reasons of action, she just wanted clarification.

Clu unfolded his arms. "I proved my point. Besides, we're not here to talk about the ISOs; we're here to talk about you."

Ally straightened up to hide her fear that was slowly building. She'd hoped that Clu wouldn't say that. But he did. Now, she was truly scared.

…

Beck smirked when he saw that the neon green signs were still on display in Argon Square. "Freedom is Perfection." Beck said. He smiled and shook his head. "Alpha sure is one smart girl. But she's eventually going to get caught if she's not careful."

Mara nodded. "She's good. I'll bet if started working with the Renegade, their revolutions might be more effective." Mara commented.

"You guys think the Renegade and Alpha would look cute together?" Zed asked with a small grin.

Beck laughed. "Maybe, Zed. Maybe."

Mara grinned. "I'd like to see you try and set those two up. The Renegade's a fighter and Alpha's smart. Though they might go well together."

Beck raised an eyebrow. _This is a bit awkward for me. I'm talking about myself in third person with my friends and they're talking about pairing me with another revolutionist with a complicated personality._

Zed sighed. "It's getting kinda late. Think we should start heading back to the Garage?" Zed asked his friends.

Mara nodded. "Yeah, I guess we should go." She glanced at Beck. "You can explain the whole incident to us some other time. Zed and I need to take a little while to cool down. Maybe next cycle or something."

Beck nodded. "Yeah."

Zed looked at Beck. "So, are you coming or are you going to meet us at the Garage later?"

Beck frowned. "I think I'll stick around longer. I'll meet you guys at the Garage later."

Beck's friends nodded and pulled out their batons. They rezzed their bikes and rode back to the Garage. A random question formed in Beck's head. _Why do we not use our bikes as often?_ Beck noticed that when he goes someplace with his friends, they walk. It's not a bad thing it was just a little strange. Beck shrugged and walked out of the Square.

On the way back to the garage, he heard quiet footsteps behind him. Beck scowled and stopped. His actions were impossibly fast when he drew his disk, activated it, turned around and then tackled whoever was behind him.

Beck glared at the program and held his disk close to his stalker's neck. He was shocked to notice it was an Occupation black guard. Beck held his disk closer to the guard's neck. "It's not past curfew." Beck commented. "Why were you sneaking up on me?"

The guard's breathing was audible. Anyone could tell that he was scared now. "I-I just received orders to have you taken to Clu. I don't know why. I just want to obey."

Beck frowned. He remembered what Tron had told him. _"Remember; don't __**ever**__ let your guard down. Clu knows that you're somehow involved in the Revolution. He's going to want you in custody for questioning. They will come for you when you least expect it."_

Beck narrowed his eyes at the guard. "Tell your boss that I'm not going to comply." Beck lifted his hand away from the guard's neck. Then he struck the guard's helmet with his elbow, knocking him out. Beck docked his disk and walked away.

_Strange…_ Beck thought. _Why would Clu send only one guard? He should know that I'm a good fighter._ Beck turned onto another road. Beck saw a dark figure out of the corner of his eye.

Beck drew and activated his disk, doing the same thing that he did with the other guard. Beck tackled the program and held his disk against her neck. Beck gasped. "Oh, uh…sorry." He got off of Evelyn. "What are you doing here?"

Evelyn sighed. "Considering I just saw you take down that soldier like that, I'm convinced that you're in trouble. Are you a revolutionist or something?"

Beck laughed. "You're really funny! You think I'm a revolutionist? I…I just get defensive. It's not every cycle I get snuck up on like that."

Evelyn nodded her head, clearly not convinced. "Yep. Keep telling yourself that, pretty boy."

Beck docked his disk and folded his arms. "Why are you here anyway?" Beck frowned. "And… Did you just call me 'pretty boy'?"

Evelyn laughed. "Never mind. It doesn't matter. I just wanted to give you a little heads up."

Beck lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? What's the 'heads up'?"

Evelyn pointed down the road Beck was heading down. "There are ten guards down that road, waiting for you around the left corner. Same thing for the right." She turned around to face the opposite direction of the road. "There are five highly trained black guards waiting for you at the right turn. And four elite guards on the left."

Evelyn turned and looked at Beck again. "Oh, and take three steps backwards after five seconds."

Beck furrowed an eyebrow. "What? Why?"

Evelyn folded her arms. "Just do it…right about…now." Beck frowned, but obeyed. Just afterward, he heard a scream and then a guard fell right in the place where Beck stood. He hit the ground hard and passed out from the impact. Evelyn whistled under her mask. "Seems like Clu's forces are out to get you tonight."

"I'll say." Beck replied.

Evelyn folded her arms. "If it wasn't for me, you would've been ambushed unexpectedly. Well, either that or a guard would've jumped onto you." She gestured to the guard lying unconscious on the ground.

Beck gave Evelyn a quizzical look. "Why would you help me though?"

Evelyn sighed. "Because I thought you'd need it." She turned and started walking away. But then she abruptly turned around to face Beck again. "By the way-"

"There's someone behind me?" Beck finished for her. Then he turned around and swung his fist at the guard that crept up behind him. He knocked out the guard and looked at Evelyn again.

"You catch on real fast. Practice fighting not using your eyes. They may deceive you. Practice just using your other senses. Feel, smell, and hear." Evelyn turned around and walked into an alley. "That's how I knew there was a guard behind you. You just knew it because of the obvious."

Evelyn stole a glance at Beck. "There are no guards in this alley. Feel free to take a detour. Then you won't have to fight." She then disappeared into darkness.

Beck shrugged. "Good to know." He walked into the same alley that Evelyn entered and routed back to the Garage from there.

"'Practice fighting not using your eyes, but using your smell, touch, and hearing senses.' I should arrange that with Tron." Beck muttered to himself as he pulled out his baton and rezzed his bike, heading for the Garage and not wanting to get caught in a sticky situation.

…

Clu walked across the room and gestured to one of the chairs. "Sit."

Ally set her jaw. "I'm fine standing, thank you very much." Ally said sarcastically.

"Sit." Clu said in a commanding, hard tone that told her not to argue.

Ally reluctantly walked over and slowly sat down. "There, isn't that better?" Clu asked with a small smile. He then walked over and sat down in the chair across from her. "You've somehow managed to evade me for such a long period of time after the war. I'm impressed."

Ally played a smile. "Thank you!"

"But-" Clu said. Ally's smile faded to a blank expression. "You realize no one can hide forever."

"It's possible if you try hard enough."

Clu raised an eyebrow and smirked in amusement. "Your current situation begs to differ."

Ally narrowed her eyes. "Just because I'm cuffed, doesn't mean I'm completely restrained. It's all I can do right now not to attack you."

Clu nodded. "I'm well aware of what you're capable of." He reached out and patted her shoulder. "That's why I want you on my side."

Ally bursted out laughing. She closed her eyes and shook her head, grinning. "Though you've changed, you have a great sense of humor!" She wiped off her grin and focused on Clu's sincere face. "No." She answered flatly. "I'll never join you."

Clu sighed and stood up. "You disappoint me, Alpha. I'd repurpose you if I could, but unfortunately, Specials' codes are impossible to operate on or replace. I'd need you to join me willingly and killing you isn't an option."

Ally smirked. "Well, it looks like you're at an impasse then. This is when an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object."

Clu nodded. "It's definitely going to be a while before I manage to think of something. If you're really not going to join me, you're going to in a holding cell for quite a long time, at least until I can come to a solution."

Ally avoided Clu's eyes. "Are we done here?"

Clu got up. "If that's what you want. I'll summon you later."

Ally rolled her eyes. "Great, I'm looking forward to that." Her sarcastic tone was obvious.

Clu ran his fingers along the length of her hair. Ally tensed up. She hated any form of physical contact. "It all depends on you." Clu whispered into her ear and walked out of the room. Ally shuddered. _First time in my life, Clu totally gives me the creeps._

The door slid open again to reveal a squad of guards to take her back to her cell. They grabbed her arms and led her out of the room. For half the trip back to her cell, Ally came along willingly and not putting up a fight. Then she abruptly kicked one of them away. She slammed her body against another and kicked a third guard.

A fourth drew his disk and attempted to slash her with it. Ally turned and angled her cuffed hands for the disk to slice through them. Once her bonds were cut, Ally ducked to avoid the guard's disk and pushed two fingers into different pressure points on his back and he fell over, paralyzed.

Ally turned and fought the remaining guards until they were all on the ground. She then turned and dashed back to the room that she talked with Clu. The door slid open noiselessly and she ran over to the table that held her belongings.

She attached her light jet on her left thigh, her light cycle on her right, and then attached her light sword to her right calf, and the light staff on her left. She peeked into her satchel to see if any of the contents were missing and to check it for trackers.

The bag still contained all her belongings and was clean of any trackers. Ally slung her satchel over her left shoulder and let it hang down by her right hip. She was ready to go.

Ally walked over to the door and got ready to make a run for it. But when she tried to open it, it was locked. Ally growled. "I had it coming. I can't believe that they expected me to escape so quickly."

Ally pulled out her smart drive and plugged it into the door panel. It displayed the door's coding and Ally played around with it like she did with the other door at the Resistance Movement's facility. The door made a small beeping noise and opened up for her.

Ally smiled and unplugged the smart drive. "Thank you again, Google." Ally said as she put the drive back into her pocket and ran down the hallway. She needed to find an exit, quickly before-

The alarms went off.

Ally groaned and rounded a corner, only to be caught by Sky. He grabbed her arms and pushed her into a random closet. Ally spun around to sock him in the jaw, but he caught her hand. "Not so fast." He hissed.

Sky dragged her over to the wall and pinned her against it. "Did you really think you could escape?"

Ally shrugged. "Well I figured I had a chance."

Sky tightened his grip. "You should know that there is no escape!"

Ally smirked. "Well my next move begs to differ!"

Sky frowned. "What?"

Ally planted her foot on Sky's stomach and pushed him away. She then placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed the knockout pressure point. He fell down, unconscious.

Ally opened the door and peeked out. The alarm was still going off so she'd have to be very careful. She quietly shut the door behind her and sprinted down the hallway. She finally found a door that led outside, but when she opened it, she found that she was on some kind of dirigible.

Ally pursed her lips. "Hmmm…there has to be a wing chute somewhere."

She turned around and found the booth that held emergency wing chutes, but Dyson stood in front of it. "Where do you think you're going?"

Ally narrowed her eyes. "I'm getting off this stupid ship! What does it look like?!"

"It looks like you're making a futile attempt to escape."

Ally smirked and backed up to the edge. "Futile? No; it's indefinite."

Dyson frowned. "What are you-?"

Ally jumped off the edge of the ship…without a wing chute. Ally twisted around in free fall to look back up at the ship. "Hey, Dyson! Have you heard of a light jet?"

Ally flipped back over, put on her mask, and yanked her light jet baton off of her left thigh and rezzed it. She figured she could use it to make her landing easier. She started descending when gunfire flew right past her, barely missing her jet.

Ally stole a backward glance to see her pursuers. Five orange light jets were on her tail. Ally swerved upwards and spun around to get behind them. She managed to take out three light jets using her gun without killing anyone.

The remaining two programs on the jets caught on to what she was doing and swerved around to dodge her shots. The next thing Ally knew, they were right behind her. Ally turned on her aerial light wall and one of them crashed into it.

The last jet started firing at Ally again as she tried to get lower to the ground. Ally took off her disk and threw it at the last jet. The disk derezzed the soldier's engine, but his gun homed in on her engine too.

Both jets derezzed and left Ally helpless. Ally spread out her arms and legs into a free-fall position. She was glad that she was able to lower her altitude just a little. She knew she'd survive the landing, despite how high up she is, but it's gonna hurt.

_What did I do to deserve this?_ Ally wondered before her body met the ground and her head started throbbing. For a moment, she couldn't move any part of her body, everything hurt. Then everything went black.

…

Beck arrived at the Garage without any trouble, thanks to Evelyn's help and advice. He walked into the Garage and stopped. He heard something.

Beck glanced up at the sky to see several light jets firing at each other in the sky. The numbers dwindled, until there were none left. "Weird…" Beck commented. "Wonder what's going on?"

"Beck!" Mara's voice interrupted Beck's thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Beck smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I should probably go into sleep mode now. I have a feeling next cycle's gonna be interesting."

Mara nodded. "Okay. Good night."

"Good night." Beck said over his shoulder. He stepped into the elevator and rubbed his eyes. "Oh man, this cycle's been weird." He stopped. _Why did Evelyn confront me like that? Does she know my secret?_ Beck shook his head to clear his thoughts. "I'm sure everything will be clearer next cycle."

The elevator landed on Beck's floor and he stepped out, heading for his dorm. He was indefinitely tired, no doubt about it. Beck's door opened and he plopped down on his bed and layed down.

_Being confronted by Gage, Occupation soldiers chasing me, seeing Evelyn, witnessing an aerial battle…the next thing I know, I'm gonna be seeing Ally._ Beck thought sarcastically. He cringed from thinking about Ally. He missed her so much. "I just wish I could see her again." Beck whispered to himself.

"…Why am I talking to myself?" Beck asked himself out loud. He sighed. _Guess I should get some rest while I still can._ Beck closed his eyes and gradually drifted into oblivion.

* * *

**By the way, I've decided to organize a poll on my profile page regarding the idea of Book 3. Take the free time to go on there and vote. It's more organized and easier for me to keep track. I have no number goal for it. It'll stay up there until I'm finished with Book 2. And I came up with another way to make my characters come ALIVE...but I don't think this is what my older brother and I had in mind.**

**Ally: Hello**

**Me: Oh no! I really am crazy! Somebody call Tron! I need to be locked in Compressed Space! I'm just as loony as Cyrus! :O**

**Evelyn: I'm here! What's up?**

**Me: *Faints***

**Evelyn: Is she okay?**

**Ally: *Shrugs* I don't know. Maybe her system's overheated. Let's pour water on her!**

**Evelyn: *Nods head* Alright, I'll grab a bucket of water. *Comes back with a bucket of water* I'm back.**

**Ally: *Grins* Okay, slowly pour it on her.**

**Ally and Evelyn: *Slowly pours water***

**Me: *Jolts awake* Ahh! What are you guys doing?!**

**Evelyn: *Shrugs* Just having fun.**

**Me: *Scowls* :(**

**Evelyn: *Shrinks back* I'd better go hide! *Runs away***

**Me: Please review while I go call a psychiatrist. Oh, and TRON LIVES. Toodles.**


	5. Long Time, No See

**Me: Hey guys! It's me...Kai. Anyways, here's chapter 5. I just want to say that when I typed that trailer for this book, there might be some things that get changed. Firstly, I'm going to revise and redo Beck's reunion with Ally. It's going to be a lot...different from the trailer but you get the point. Bottom line, Beck and Ally will be together again. In fact, it's sooner than you think. That's right folks! Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for! XD Enjoy!**

**Ally: Yay! Me see Beck again!**

**Me: Oh come on!**

**Ally: :(**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Long Time, No See**

Ally eventually woke up and rubbed her still-masked head. "Ouch. I hope I never have to do that again." She looked around and stood up, examining her surroundings.

Ally was now standing in the Outlands. And she could just barely see Argon City in the distance. Ally turned around when she heard a cracking and grinding sound and looked down at the place where she crash-landed.

The ground was really damaged. _Wow, I'm surprised it didn't crumble underneath me._ Ally thought to herself.

On que, the damaged ground started to grind and shake. Ally's eyes widened. "Uh oh…" She turned and started running. The ground was breaking up behind her and was catching up to her very quickly. Eventually, she couldn't stay ahead of it, and she started falling into abyss, screaming.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a light jet appeared and grabbed Ally's wrist as she fell and pulled her on board. Ally recovered from what happened and eyed her savior carefully. She sighed with relief when she realized it wasn't a soldier.

"Who are you?" Ally asked.

The program turned to acknowledge her. "Don't worry; your questions will be answered as soon as we land." The program answered.

Ally simply nodded. "Fine."

Ally's savior landed at the docks and sat down on a crate. Ally cautiously approached the figure, which she identified as a girl and sat down next to her. She carefully examined the girl that saved her. Thankfully, her mask gave her that privacy to stare.

Her black jumpsuit has high heels. Her gloves leave her fingertips bare, but still cover her hands and the gloves end on her forearm just below the elbow. Her sleeves go down a few inches and stops, leaving her elbows bare. Her primary circuitry is white and the secondary color is teal/turquoise. She noticed that the girl's primary white circuits faded into her secondary color teal/turquoise.

Ally's eyes widened under mask. She had an idea of who this program was, and she wasn't just any program. _She's a Special._ Ally noticed. She swallowed hard before guessing her savior's identity. "Zoe?" Ally guessed.

The girl turned towards Ally and lifted her mask to reveal her beautiful smile. Ally lifted her mask too and embraced her old friend in a hug. "Oh my gosh! It's so good to see you again!" Ally exclaimed. "And you haven't changed a bit!"

Zoe's golden blonde hair the dark brown highlights still had a section of hair on the right side dyed sapphire blue and a section on the left side dyed bright green. She also managed to keep her hair cut the same way with the same length.

Her hair went down to her mid-back, her front-side strands of hair on her head are cut shorter to about shoulder length. Her hair is straight with the tips of her hair all around very choppy.

Ally stared into Zoe's cool, dark eyes which appeared to have black irises. "Where have you been all those cycles?"

Zoe sighed. "I've been hiding, Alpha. Hiding from Clu and his armies for such a long time. After I heard of the ISO War that started back in Tron City, I aborted the mission and hid just in time to avoid the soldiers that Clu sent looking for me."

Zoe frowned. "I waited for coded instructions from Tron to tell me what to do next, but then I heard of his defeat. I spent the next hundred cycles lurking in the shadows, avoiding Clu's forces completely until I could come up with a plan of action."

Zoe smiled and looked at Ally. "Then I heard about the Renegade. I wasn't sure it was Tron after I saw the footage of him remodeling Clu's statue, but afterwards…I'm convinced that he's really Tron."

"Zoe-" Ally began.

"I mean, think about it!" Zoe cut Ally off. "He's wearing a suit that looks exactly like Tron's white uniform!" Zoe smiled at Ally. "Then I heard about you…"

Ally stared at Zoe. "Yeah, I traveled City to City, freeing the programs and working with the Resistance Movement." Ally stood up. "But now I'm completely alone. I'm not working with those guys again. I'm going to go undercover again."

"And do what?" Zoe questioned.

Ally shrugged. "I don't know, live a normal life until I can think of something." Ally looked at Zoe. "You should do the same."

Zoe nodded. "Maybe I should."

Ally patted Zoe's shoulder. "I'll see you around. I should find an apartment to live in before it's after Curfew."

Zoe nodded and smiled at Ally. "Okay, I'll see you around."

Ally embraced Zoe in a hug one more time before walking away. "Bye."

…

Beck woke up and got off the bed. _Same routine. Get up, go downstairs, work, train with Tron, and spend free time with friends or as the Renegade, go back to bed._ Beck frowned. "My life is empty." Beck said flatly.

Beck walked over to the elevator. As he descended, Beck carefully looked on the bottom floor for any soldiers. There were none. Beck sighed with relief. He was really on edge this cycle.

When the elevator reached the main floor, Beck put on his protective gear and got to work on a broken lightcycle. Zed walked by and looked at Beck. "You're working early." He commented.

Beck glanced up at Zed. "I'm early? Huh, I didn't even notice." Beck opened up the holographic inside of the bike and examined it when Mara walked over too. Beck sighed. "I suppose you want me to explain everything to you now."

Mara nodded. "We're ready."

Beck sighed again, derezzing his protective gear and yanking the recoder out of the bike. For a few moments, he just sat there. "Beck," Mara began, gently touching his arm. "Are you okay?"

Beck nodded. "I'm fine; it's…just a very sore topic."

"Oh."

Beck frowned. "A lot of painful things happened that I'm not ready to tell about. But let's just say that I used to…" Beck bit his lip, hard. "I used to be part of the gang."

Zed and Mara both gasped. Mara frowned. "Why?"

Beck studied the ground. "I was new on the Grid. I didn't know anything. I didn't even have a disk to begin with." Beck explained. "This happened long before I came to Argon. They found me without a disk and they thought I was an easy mark."

Beck smirked slightly. "I wasn't. In fact, I was so good at defending myself, even without a disk, that they had me join their group. I didn't know what I was doing. I hadn't even got a disk yet. And it happened…"

Beck narrowed his eyes, trying to remember. "It happened a little before Clu took over. At some point in time, I got a disk and I was part of their group for a while. And then…" Beck bit his lip and winced. "This is the sore part. Uh, let's just say for now, that I was motivated enough to leave. I put it all behind me, but apparently, Gage hasn't."

Beck frowned. "I don't even know why he's in Argon or what brought him here in the first place. Last I checked, he was in Neon." Beck said, shaking his head.

Mara frowned. "You said when they first found you, you didn't have a disk." Beck nodded. "So, were you originally created without one or did you lose it?"

Beck looked Mara in the eye. "I don't know. I-I think I was made without one."

Zed stared at Beck. "Are you an ISO?"

Beck slowly shook his head. "No. Trust me, I checked myself. I'm clean."

Mara frowned. "Hmmm…programs always rez onto the Grid with disks. If you're not an ISO, but you didn't come with a disk, then…" Mara pursed her lips. "Then there's something going on. And whatever it is, you don't know it."

"We don't either." Zed commented. Mara nodded. "Hmmm, we'll figure it out later, Beck."

"We understand now, Beck. Thanks for telling us." Mara smiled at Beck reassuringly and stood up.

"Hey, Beck." Zed grinned. "Mara and I are going to the club later, you wanna join us?"

Beck frowned. "Actually, I think I'll skip for tonight if that's okay. I'll probably just go for a walk over by the docks."

Mara nodded. "It's fine. You probably just need time to yourself. After all, Zed and I made you talk about a sore subject. Sorry about that. And we'll let you get back to work." Mara said, while assuring Zed away from Beck so they could also get to work.

Beck sighed and plugged the recoder back into the bike after reapplying his protective gear. After that, he got back to work and acted like nothing had happened.

…

_Seriously?! How long will these guys keep this up?!_ Ally quickly rounded a corner, dodging several light tasers thrown her way. It hadn't been long before Occupation Soldiers spotted her. _I really should've thought about disguising myself!_

Ally was actually getting tired from such a chase. These programs just refuse to give up. Just when she thinks she's lost them, they somehow reappear. The third time was funny, but it lost its inside humor after the ninth time. (Ally had counted)

Now it's the tenth time it happened. And Ally was losing her breath. But she was determined to get away and not get caught. She really didn't want to be fact-to-face with Clu again anytime soon.

Ally was actually starting to lose them, for real. She knew that if she rounded this last corner, they wouldn't find her again.

Apparently, one of the black guards noticed that too. Frantic, he drew, activated his disk and threw it at her.

At first, Ally just felt pressure, then a wave of hot, sharp pain coursed through her body, emanating from the left side of her torso. Ally cried out. The guard's disk had cut through the left side right by her stomach area. She was beginning to falter, but luckily, Ally had managed to get around the corner and get away from them in time.

Even though she wasn't being pursued anymore, she still didn't want to take any chances. She finally stopped running when her vision started to blur. She leaned against a wall in the alley she was in and drew her disk.

She knew if she wasn't disguised and fast, she'll be found and chased again. And this time, the chances of getting away are highly unlikely. Ally opened up her appearance files and bit her lip.

Hesitantly, she hovered her finger over one of the options. The option for her natural appearance, with her citizen attire, without the emblem. She took a deep breath and pressed the button. She docked her disk again for her changes to occur.

Ally looked into the reflective wall with a blank expression. Her eyes were a sparkly dark blue, her hair was dirty blonde, perfectly straight, shoulder length, about an inch of the tips were vibrant red, and her hair was cut in a choppy style.

She had on high heels, and gloves that showed off the tips of her fingers. Ally's black suit had primary white circuits and the secondary were neon green. She frowned. The neon green colors still might be a dead giveaway of her identity, but you'd have to look very hard to notice that they're neon green and not just a light green color.

Ally's eyes widened when she heard footsteps. They were coming close too. She listened in. The program was alone, but she didn't want to take the chance and stay to find out who it was. _It's probably Dyson or Sky._ Ally thought to herself.

She then continued her sprint through the alleyway to avoid getting seen or caught. But the moment she started running again, her injury sent very strong waves of sharp pain throughout her body, forcing her to her knees, then down on all fours.

Ally gasped. The pain was intense. She turned her head slowly and through her blurred vision, she could just barely make out the lone figure at the end of the alleyway. The figure stopped walking for a moment, probably taking in the sight of her, then broke into a run over to her.

Ally squinted hard at the figure. She didn't see any orange lights so she relaxed slightly. As the figure approached, she tried to get up, but her injury released another wave of pain that forced her back down onto the ground.

Ally let out a shaky groan from pain and collapsed onto the ground. Her vision blurred and went dark. The last thing she knew, she felt a gentle hand on her right side. Then she passed out again.

…

Beck's shift was finally over, Zed and Mara were at the club, and he didn't have to train with Tron yet. He felt like going for a walk. He just needed some alone time with his miserable thoughts.

He looked around at the crates by the docks. They were stacked up on each other higher than he last remembered. He shrugged. Beck stopped by the edge and stared into the dark, churning sea below.

Beck frowned. He always enjoyed dipping into the deep, cool water with Ally. _But it was a long time ago._ Beck shook his head. _She's not coming back. She's dead…_

Beck's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone cry out. He stopped dead. _What's going on down there?_ Beck turned and looked at the alleyway that the noise came from. _Might be worth checking out though._

Beck cautiously entered the alley and looked around. As he neared the area where the noises came from, he glanced around to make sure no one was around to jump him. He heard a program gasp and start to run. Judging by the sound, it was a girl. _She must've noticed me._ Beck guessed.

Not long after she started running, he heard her crumple to the ground. Beck rounded a corner and saw a girl laying on the ground, barely conscious. Beck stared at her for a moment, taking in the sight before him.

She had dirty blonde hair with an inch of her choppy tips colored red. She had white and neon green circuits, heels, and fingerless gloves. Surprisingly though, what Beck paid more attention to was the deep gash in her left torso.

After realizing what was going on, Beck ran over to the prone figure and placed a hand on her uninjured side. She was out cold. He sighed and carefully turned her over.

Beck gasped and stared at her with wide eyes. He knew who this program was. It was Ally. Beck's breathing turned rapid. _How…how'd she get here? What happened to her?!_

Ally let out a small groan from the pain. Beck looked at the injury with uncertainty. He was never really 'Mr. Healing Hands'. First things first. Beck needed to get her out of the open and into the Garage.

Beck, careful not to damage her injury any further, wrapped his left arm around Ally's shoulders and eased his right arm under her knees.

Beck slowly stood up and glanced down at Ally to make sure he didn't hurt her. She slowly shifted in his arms, her expression lifeless. Beck sighed.

Beck started making his way back to the Garage. He made sure to stay away from other programs and avoid prying eyes of other programs.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long to get back to the Garage. Zed and Mara were already there. They stood in the entrance, talking to each other with big smiles on their faces.

Mara turned and saw Beck coming. "Beck! You're finally back! We-" Mara then saw the girl in Beck's arms. "Uh, who's she?"

Beck kept walking. "Someone I know." Zed and Mara followed Beck into the elevator.

Zed stared at Ally. "Oh my gosh! Her circuits are faded. I mean, **really** faded!"

Mara sighed. "But that's the least of her problems." Mara studied the injury on Ally's left side. "She's got a deep gash on her left side." Mara winced. "She must've been through a lot."

Beck frowned at Ally's small, helpless figure. "Yeah, she must've." The elevator doors opened up and let them out. Beck walked down the stretch of the hallway and stopped outside his dorm. Beck's door sensed their presence and opened up, welcoming them inside.

Beck wasted no time walking inside and laying Ally down on his bed. He laid Ally's head gently on the pillow and drew her disk. Mara stepped in to help. "Here," Mara outstretched her hand. "Let me take care of this." Beck nodded and placed Ally's disk in her hand.

Beck rushed into another room and got a glass of energy. Beck walked back into his bedroom with the glass and set it down on a side table. Beck set up a chair by his bed and held Ally's hand.

Zed stood a distance away, staring at the sight before him. Mara was holding the girl's disk, slowly but gradually fixing the damages to her code. And Beck was sitting in a chair close by, clutching the girl's hand almost as if his life depended on it. He was obviously in love with her.

But what Zed was curious to know is how Beck apparently knows her, because she was a complete stranger to him and Mara. Beck looked up and seemed to read Zed's mind. "You're wondering how I know her, aren't you."

Beck turned back to Ally and stroked her hair. "I thought she was dead. I thought Gage killed her."

"Oh, this has to do with Gage?" Mara asked without looking up from Ally's disk.

Beck nodded. "Yeah, I was still part of his gang when I first met Ally. I saved her from getting…" Beck winced. "Violated…by other bad programs." Beck almost smiled. "Then we started hanging out. You know, getting to know each other better."

Beck frowned and focused on Ally's unconscious figure. "We were only together for twenty cycles before I tried to leave. We were planning on leaving Neon City and moving to Purgos, away from Gage and the rest of the Crims." Beck glanced at his friends. "Gage's gang is known as the Crims, by the way."

Beck's friends merely nodded. "They have this slogan. 'Once a Crim, always a Crim'." Beck sighed. "Before Ally and I were able to leave, Gage got in the way. Usually, anyone who tries to leave the gang would be derezzed. But Gage had something different planned out."

Beck cringed and bit his lip. "He kidnapped Ally. I-I thought he blew her up in a building. Now I'm thinking that it was a lie just to upset me."

Zed nodded. "It would explain why Gage was so happy to see you again. He probably still wants you to rejoin his gang." Zed gave Beck a sad look. "And I now know why this is a sore subject for you to talk about."

Beck looked at Zed. "He thinks that I never actually quit. The incident was a form to punish me, forcing me to live in mental pain forever. I'd never rejoin him though. After everything that happened? It's a definite 'no'!"

Mara looked at Beck and then at the ground, frowning. Then she changed the subject. "Okay, her injuries are treated. The gash in her left side was a bit difficult to take care of, but I managed." Mara lifted Ally's shoulder and placed Ally's disk onto her back again.

Beck smiled at Mara. "Thanks." Mara nodded with a smile in response. Beck then got serious and looked at his friends. "You guys can't tell anyone about my past, not even Able. It's really personal. And…" Beck glanced at Ally again, squeezing her hand. "We still need to catch up on some stuff. Find out what's happened lately and come up with another story of how we met without straying far from the truth."

Zed nodded. "Alright. Mara and I will just leave you alone now. If anything happens or you need us, we'll be right next door." Zed slipped his hand into Mara's and let her to the door.

Beck smiled slightly. _Zed's dorm is right next door. Mara's is across the hall. What are they going to do in Zed's room?_ Beck frowned. He had an idea of what was going to happen.

Zed and Mara walked out of Beck's room with their fingers intertwined. Beck smiled again. _How long have they been together?_ Beck wondered.

Ally shifted slightly on the bed, bringing Beck's attention back to her. Beck held her left hand in both of his, squeezing and holding it tightly. "You'll be okay. Everything's gonna be fine." Beck said reassuringly. He didn't know whether he was reassuring unconscious Ally or himself. It didn't matter to him. Ally was here now, with him.

After hundreds of painful cycles, they were finally together again. Beck smiled at Ally and kissed her hand. Ally shifted on the bed again. Beck pressed his forehead against her hand and sighed. "It's good to see you again. I missed you so much." Beck smiled. "And I'm glad that you're not really dead."

Beck sat in the chair by her bed the whole time, never leaving Ally's side. But at some point, he fell asleep, still holding her hand in his.

* * *

**Me: Okay, so Beck and Ally finally reunited. Well...sort of. Sorry to leave you guys on a cliffhanger of sorts but I'm gonna go camping this Sunday. I'll be back sometime on Friday. So...don't expect an update anytime before then, but I promise to do it as soon as possible when I get back.**

**Ally: Oooh! I love camping!**

**Me: Go back to bed!**

**Ally: :(**

**Beck: What's going on?**

**Me: Seriously?! Somebody just lock me up in Compressed Space right now!**

**Tron: That can be arranged.**

**Me: Never mind! Please review before I leave! *Runs away* I'm to camp at 10:00 AM for camp on Sunday. TRON LIVES! Toodles.**


	6. The Reunion

**Hi everyone. I know I was supposed to update last week on Friday. Unfortunately I spent an extra week without access to a computer because my parents decided it was a great time to drive all the way up to my Grandparents' house at Breezy Point. Not that it was bad or anything, it was just inconvenient for all of you and me. Whatever. Anyways, here's chapter 6, the one you've all been waiting for: Beck and Ally's reunion; plus some extra Special stuff. Hehe ^^ Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 6 The Reunion**

Beck had woke up again and found he was still in the chair. Ally was still unconscious, but she was breathing heavily. Beck sighed and stood up. He walked into another room to get a drink. He needed something to keep him awake.

Beck walked out of his dorm and down to the break room on the main floor where they serve energy. Beck poured himself a glass and took a sip. He then heard someone else quietly enter the room. Beck quickly spun around to face the program.

It was Able. Beck sighed and sat down. "You startled me."

Able frowned. "You don't usually stay up this late." He looked at Beck's drink. "You okay?"

Beck nodded. "Yeah, I…just can't sleep tonight." Beck said, not straying too far from the truth.

Able nodded. "Well, you should try to get some rest anyways. Don't stay up too late." He said before exiting the room again.

"Okay." Beck replied. He downed his drink and disposed the glass. Beck went back upstairs to his dorm, feeling more awake. When he opened the door, everything seemed to have changed.

Ally was breathing heavily and tossing and turning. She was having a nightmare. Beck ran over to the bed. "Ally; Ally it's okay." Ally kept taking in breaths through gasps.

Beck sighed. He knew he'd be unable to wake her up for another good cycle. She was rebooting and recovering from her recent incident…whatever it was.

He gripped Ally's upper arms and pulled her up and into his lap. Ally frantically fidgeted when he pulled her up. He kept one of his arms wrapped around her shoulders while the other was wrapped around her legs.

Ally started struggling in his grip. _She's strong._ Beck mentally commented. Ally gasped and tried to pry herself out of Beck's grasp. It was amazing that she was that mobile while she was still in sleep mode.

Beck was caught off guard when Ally's hand curled up into a fist and made a feeble attempt to punch him. Beck quickly caught her wrist and hugged her tighter. "It's okay, Ally. It's okay."

Beck whispered soothing words into her ear and she gradually calmed down. Eventually, she was calmly asleep again. Beck spent the next dozens of nanos holding Ally and keeping her calm.

Eventually, Beck gently placed Ally back onto the bed and stood up. He had to go downstairs to work.

Beck's eyes felt heavy. He couldn't believe that he managed to stay up for most of the night, doing nothing but watching Ally and holding her hand. Beck stepped into the elevator and quickly descended to the main floor to work.

Beck set up his workspace and a lightcycle and immediately got to work. "Hey, Beck." Beck looked up to see Mara standing a little distance from him.

"Hey." Beck said casually before turning back to his lightcycle. "It's going to be a while before Ally wakes up." He informed. "Maybe a few millicycles after my shift. I can't be certain." Beck sighed. "She's strong."

Mara faintly smirked. "Stronger than you remember last time?"

Beck nodded. "Definitely." Then he smiled. "Ally is…amazing. It's been a long time since I last saw her. I can't wait to see her reaction to our little…reunion."

Mara smiled. "Well the sooner you finish repairing the vehicles that you're assigned, the sooner you can see her again." Beck grinned. It was the perfect motivation.

…

Sky pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked up at Dyson and Clu again. All three programs were sitting comfortably in chairs, facing each other.

Dyson looked very bored and seemed to stare at nothing in particular. It's his usual expression when he's awaiting orders. Clu lightly drummed his fingertips off of the arm part of his chair. Sky sighed. "Why didn't I see it coming?! I should've known that she'd be able to escape despite the security measures we'd taken!"

Clu fixed his eyes on Sky. "Don't worry, Lieutenant Skipper. In all fairness, this is the very FIRST time you've ever failed me. You're the most experienced soldier I have that specializes in handling Specials. Of course, we all should've expected that Alpha would be…different."

Dyson nodded. "Yep, she's different all right. She jumped off of the ship which was exactly thirty thousand feet in the air, not to mention without a WING CHUTE! She's crazy! Skipper, how did you manage to spend all those cycles undercover with her?"

Sky shrugged. "I don't know. She's very smart and an excellent fighter. Honestly, she wasn't that hard to trick though. But since she's no longer in our grasp, we're not going to be able to pull the same stunt. She already knows all of us."

Clu nodded. "You're definitely right, Lieutenant Skipper. She knows all of us. But we might be able to find another way to force her out of hiding. But first, we have to find a weak spot on her." The other two programs nodded in agreement.

Sky grinned. "You know, I was never caught and labeled as a traitor in the Resistance Movement." Dyson looked at Sky with curiosity. "When we got Alpha, I was actually doing a job they assigned me and was supposed to scout the streets and look for your soldiers. Then I saw Alpha escape from their facility. It hasn't been too long since then. If I check in with them now, they won't suspect anything. I can still be your 'inside man' for a while. In the meantime, we can begin to think of ways to flush Alpha out."

Sky grinned. "If there's one place we know Alpha **won't** be is with the Resistance Movement. The plan to divide them was genius! It wasn't even that hard to hack into her files and change her mental status over time. And Chad, of all programs, he actually believed what her file displayed because sooner than I even anticipated, she was taken to their mental hospital." Dyson stifled a laugh. Clu smirked.

…

Beck rode back up the elevator with Zed and Mara after his shift was over. He smiled. "You guys will like Ally." He said, walking over to his dormitory after the elevator stopped and let them out. "She's very smart and intelligent. Not to mention she's strong and definitely has courage." Beck opened his door. "And she's very friendly."

Ally was still passed-out on the bed. Beck immediately walked into the small kitchen to get a glass. He filled the glass with energy and walked into his bedroom, over to the side table. Beck set the glass down on the table for Ally when she woke up and sat down in the chair next to her.

"So," Mara began. "What do we do when your girlfriend wakes up?" Mara frowned. "She…is your girlfriend…right?"

Beck didn't take his eyes off of Ally. "Well, I don't recall breaking up." Beck answered. Then Beck noticed the satchel slung over Ally's shoulder. "I didn't notice this before." He commented as he gently lifted Ally's left shoulder so he could remove the bag. The batons attached to Ally's calves and thighs didn't escape his attention either.

Mara looked at the bag curiously. "Maybe if you looked inside, you could get some clues to help you figure out what she's been through after your separation." Beck turned and looked at Mara suspiciously. "Hey, it's just a suggestion."

Beck hesitated before opening the bag. What he and his friends saw inside was shocking. Mara frowned and listed off the contents aloud. "Several arm bands, grenades, paint bombs, light tasers, light jet batons, light cycle batons, light swords, light staffs…" Her eyes widened and she glanced back at Beck. "I think there's more to your girlfriend than what clearly meets the eye."

Zed slowly nodded. "I'd have to agree to that. Either she's a refugee on the run, a warrior that got injured, or she just likes to carry around weapons for fun. Maybe all three."

Beck sighed. "Well I know for sure she's been through a lot. She probably thinks I'm dead." Beck frowned. "I wonder how much she's changed. If so, how much?"

He looked up at Mara for a moment. "I don't even know how she'll react to seeing me after such a long time. And I hope she didn't forget about me."

Zed sat down in another chair nearby. "Did you ever forget her?"

Beck faintly smiled. "No."

…

Paige sat on the rooftop of the Medical Center. The view was truly magnificent, much better than the one in the last hospital she worked at. The wind blew Paige's hair everywhere. It was still cut the way it used to be before she was ever involved with Clu's army. For a few nanos, it felt just like the old cycles. Back when she hung out with Rox and her other friends. Like she was never found by Tesler and recruited by his army in the first place.

It's been several cycles since she arrived in Gallium and went back to working as a medic and since then; she's been helping to improve the city.

Newsflash: Most of the gangs and terrorists are finally taken care of thanks to both Paige's medical and army training. Gallium is currently in a time of peace and now there are hardly any accidents now. The lack of work needed has given Paige and her friends more time to hang out and bond. (Not that they don't have enough time for that at work, considering they all work together on the field)

Second Newsflash: Emi and Jay have been dating since the cycle that Paige was flung out of the ambulance's windshield. They've both had something since the moment they first met. They're still currently dating and it hasn't got between their work and with their friendships with each other and Paige. (Paige sensed that Emi and Jay had strong feelings for each other since the first time she's seen them)

And during some of Paige's free-time, she's learned quite a few interesting facts.

First: Gallium is a very remote and detached City. It doesn't work or communicate much with other Cities as much as it used to and hasn't gotten much recent news. Communications have been cut off from the outside right after word spread about the Renegade destroying Clu's statue (Which has been tempting other programs to follow suit). The City only communicates with other Cities strictly with work.

Second: Gallium doesn't have much of product or military value. Therefore, Clu hasn't had plans of taking over the City anytime soon. (Taking over the City isn't number 1 on Clu's "Top Priority List") However, despite the City's lack of Military advantage, the citizens are tense and if there's too much trouble for their liking, they're willing to fight back.

Third: Jay had taken the time to teach and explain some things to Paige that she's never known or heard of before…**Specials**. He told her that like the ISOs, they weren't created by Flynn and they were nothing like Users or Basics. However, while Clu hated the ISOs and saw them as imperfection, he saw the Specials as total opposites and came to like them almost immediately. Jay explained to Paige that Specials are first created without disks, which leave them very vulnerable and incapable of holding their memories (like Basics). What fascinated Paige about the Specials was the fact that they could experience real emotions that Users feel. They could blush and cry and feel other things that Basics couldn't; that it was both a gift and a curse. Jay added that a fraction of Specials have a unique ability or appearance that not all Specials even have. He also told her that Specials do have a purpose, but instead of having one particular programming like Basics, they have two programmings. But that only one Special was different from the others. That one Special had three programmings instead of two. And that she could change her appearance just by changing the coding on her disk. He told Paige that she had neon green circuits and had an 'A' emblem. "Her name is: Alpha." Jay said.  
Paige frowned. "Wait, Alpha is a Special? Is that why she looks different from other programs, that's why she's so important?"  
Jay nodded. "Out of the rest of the Specials, she was the one who unintentionally caught Clu's attention. Ever since Clu had met her, he saw her as the most unique and important of all the Specials. Ever since the ISO War, Clu's been pursuing her so he would be able to keep his biggest threat out of his way. And, rumor has it, that Alpha led a small group of Specials during the ISO War and fought against Clu's forces to defend the ISOs."  
Paige's jaw dropped. "But why? Why would she defend the ISOs? According to Clu, they're nothing but imperfections! And Alpha's a perfectionist just like Clu! So why would she go against him? Why isn't she on his side?"  
Jay pursed his lips. "I'm not entirely sure. It's true that they both seek perfection. I think they both have different ideas of perfection. According to Alpha, she believes that liberation and peace is perfection. While Clu thinks that control and order must be established in order for perfection."  
Paige stared at the floor for a while. "How do you know all of this?"  
Jay's eyes widened momentarily. "Um, well uh" he stammered. "Dallas knows this too."  
"Does Emi know?" Paige questioned. When Jay didn't answer, she realized that it was kept from her. "If Emi doesn't know, why are you telling me?"  
Jay looked Paige in the eye. "Because I've seen what you're capable of. You can do so much for the sake of civilian programs. You can help Alpha and the Renegade fight against Clu and win back everyone's rightfully deserved freedom. And I know you came here to seek refuge…just like I did."  
Paige made eye contact with Jay. "How are you and Dallas related to this historical tragedy?"  
Jay looked away from Paige. "I think that's enough questions for now. Just think about what I told you." He then stood up and walked away.

Paige continued looking off of the roof and at the view of the City and the distant Outlands. Paige had a feeling Jay and Dallas knew more about herself and History than they were letting on. _Does Jay or Dallas somehow know about my past back in Argon? And how do they know this stuff? Is there another reason why Jay's telling me this? It was all pretty random._

Paige frowned._ And what did he mean by seeking refuge in Gallium? __**I**__ came back here to return to living a normal life!_ Paige narrowed her eyes. _Or did I really run away from my problems in Argon and come here to seek refuge and live like a coward?_

Paige realized that Jay really was onto something when he told her about the Grid's history and about Specials and her 'destiny' and 'capabilities'. It made Paige feel a little uneasy about what's going on now. Especially with the fact that Jay's never acted like that before. It was…strange.

_Would Dallas be able to give me more detail about Grid history?_ Paige walked into the elevator and rode it all the way down to the lobby. When the doors opened and let her out, Paige walked up the front desk where Dallas sat and stopped.

Dallas didn't look up from the screen that she was focused on. "Hello, Paige." Dallas greeted her. "Is there a problem? Can I help you with something?"

Paige sucked in a deep breath. "Actually, if it isn't too much trouble, do you think we can talk sometime?"

This time, Dallas looked up from her work and locked eyes with Paige. "Of course. Just let me finish up with my work and we'll talk later. It shouldn't take long, just several nanos. Just go back to your dorm for now."

Paige nodded. "Okay." She walked back into the elevator and headed back to her dorm. Paige pressed in her combination and the door unlocked, letting her inside. Paige walked inside and the door closed behind her.

She sat down on her bed and waited for Dallas. True to her word, within a few nanocycles, there was a light knock on the door. "Come in." Paige invited.

Dallas opened the door and stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and walked across the room and sat down next to Paige. "What do you need to talk about?"

Paige frowned and looked at Dallas. "I need to know more about the Grid's history. I already know about Specials and their leader, but I think there are more important details that I'm missing out on."

Dallas stiffened. "Who told you about the Specials?" She faintly smirked. "Was it Jay?" Paige nodded. Dallas nodded. "It all makes sense now."

Paige frowned. "Why, was he joking with me or something?"

Dallas shook her head. Now she looked gravely serious. "Paige, what did he tell you?"

Paige thought back on her conversation with him. "Well, he told me about the Specials' abilities, unique abilities and appearances, Alpha and her relation with Clu and the ISO War."

Dallas tensed when Paige mentioned the ISO War. "Alright, you want me to fill in the details of this history lesson?" Paige nodded. Dallas sighed. "Fine, but it's not a very fun story to tell. And you can't spread this to any random program. It's important to keep this information secret. I believe Jay gave you a reason why he told you this in the first place, so I'll follow his lead. And I'll give you my side of the story."

Paige was confused. "Wait, your side? You were there at the time?"

Dallas nodded. "I was there when Clu started attacking the ISOs. It's not something I like to remember, but it's important not to forget."

Dallas looked Paige in the eye. "The Specials were definitely a miracle, both Clu and Flynn could agree to that. But the Specials seemed to be cozier with the ISOs than the Basics, which made Clu a little upset. Apparently, he started spreading rumors about the ISOs. A large fraction of the Basics believed it and so did half of the Specials' population."

Paige frowned. She was beginning to understand why it wasn't very happy. She was beginning to sympathize the ISOs. "Were any of the rumors true?"

Dallas eyed Paige. "Do believe that ISOs pervert the Grid? That they're imperfections? Do you think they attract Grid Bugs to Cities?"

Paige shook her head. "No, I don't think it's even possible to attract Grid Bugs, they just go about the Grid, looking for programs to feed off of. And I even met an ISO once." Dallas stiffened again. "She didn't look imperfect to me; in fact, I didn't even know she was an ISO until I saw the mark on her arm."

Dallas slowly nodded. "So you understand that Clu was lying. He hoped that the uneasiness between the ISOs and Basics would start the war, but it didn't. Clu had to take control of the Military and attack them himself and let his believers follow suit."

Paige frowned. "Did the Specials ever attack the ISOs?"

"Not until Clu took over, then they divided into three groups. One group supported Clu and helped him and a large number of Basics destroy the ISOs, the second group was neutral and wanted to stay out of the war now they're either running or they're captured by Clu. The Third group, led by Alpha, defended the ISOs throughout the ISO War along with Basics that believed that the ISOs were good."

Paige raised her eyebrows. "What happened to the Specials?"

"Well, the Specials that were always on Clu's side have high-ranked positions in his army, Alpha and the ISO sympathizers are now scattered and hiding, same for the neutral Specials. Every now and then, Clu finds a Special and will capture them. But here's what's strange. Specials cannot get repurposed, they're immune."

Paige gasped. "Really? They're untouchable?"

Dallas nodded again. "Unfortunately for them, they can't be killed either, Clu prohibits that. So the captured Specials are always locked away. Some have turned and became Clu's loyal soldiers, but others remain locked up."

"That's so sad." Paige said.

"Yeah, Alpha's the only Special that's still known to be currently fighting back. She doesn't give up and never will. She had very close friends that supported her and helped her throughout the War but now they're separated. Her closest friends that were Specials also look unique or have special talents, like Alpha does."

Paige started getting more interested. "What are her friends like?"

"I don't know. I never got to meet Alpha or her friends at the time, but I've seen them." Dallas studied Paige carefully. "I've seen what you're capable of on the field. It's not a mystery why Jay told you all of this. You could tip the scales in this conflict, whether it's for Clu, or for Alpha. The Grid is at risk and will need help later on. When the time comes, Jay and I will fight, Emi will likely stand by our side, and you could change the fate of every living program."

Paige nodded. "I understand completely but…I don't think I'm destined for greatness, that's for Alpha or the Renegade. I came to Gallium so I'd avoid getting into more trouble."

Dallas nodded. "I know, the Grid isn't desperate for a hero yet, but it will later on. In the meantime, we'll sit still and wait until we're needed most, then we'll fight. But for now, we'll go about our normal lives." She stood up. "Until we're needed, we need to keep this quiet. Only you and Jay know about this besides me, as far as I know. For now, we'll go about our normal routines and pretend this conversation never happened. Just keep in mind what I told you."

Dallas turned and headed towards the door. Without a word or a backwards glance, she walked out the door, leaving Paige alone.

Paige frowned and stared at her ceiling. "Wow, didn't expect Gallium to be so…disconnected from other Cities. Since when did this City ignore problems? Last time I was here, I remembered the citizens facing problems head on, not running away from them." Paige stopped and cringed. That was exactly what she was doing. Running away from her problems instead of facing them.

She sighed and laid back down on her bed. Things felt so complicated right now. She began to wonder once all this was over, would things ever be able to go back to normal? What's Paige's definition for 'normal'? Paige didn't know the answer to either questions. Hopefully she'd know soon.

Paige's thoughts were interrupted when Emi knocked on the door. "Hey, Paige? It's me, may I come in?"

Paige sat up. "Um…yeah, sure."

Emi walked in and greeted Paige with a smile. "Jay and I are going to head to the club…as usual. You're coming, right?"

Paige smirked and folded her arms. "Are you and Jay gonna make out in front of me again?"

Emi stifled a laugh and shook her head. "Don't worry, it won't happen again."

"Promise?"

Emi nodded conformation. "I promise."

Paige shrugged and stood up. "Alright then, let's go!"

…

Ally shifted and started to wake up from sleep mode. She tried to clear her blurred vision and focus on something. But she was still tired and weak from her recent injury. She closed her eyes again. _No point in keeping them open._

Ally heard voices not too far away from her. She tried to listen to their conversation, but their words were indecipherable. Her senses were dulled, but her mind was normal. One thought was clear. She has to escape. She didn't know how she'd do it, but she will.

She was finally able to understand the voices better after a few nanos. "So…she'll be okay?" A voice asked. She wasn't sure why, but the voice sounded familiar.

"Yeah," A second voice answered. "She's fine, I patched up her injury. She should wake up in about…two millicycles at least."

Ally frowned. _Injury?_ She touched her left side where her injury used to be. It was mostly healed, but there were traces of discomfort where a tiny bit of damaged code remained. It was clearly tended to by an amateur medic or someone who wasn't programmed for healing. She made a mental note to take care of that later.

"Hey, she's moving!" A third voice said. Ally heard movement towards her after that.

_Uh oh._ She thought to herself. _Time to run._ Ally's eyes shot open and she jumped to her feet. Her vision wasn't helping, it was all blurry. She was practically fighting blind.

She instinctively reached for her satchel to pull out a stun grenade when she realized it was gone. _Okay, time for plan B._ Ally curled her hands into fists. _Time for the classical 'Hit and Run'._ She sensed someone to her right and attempted to jab a pressure point.

Before she could hit her mark, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her torso, trapping her arms to her sides. The trace of her injury felt aggravated. Her feet left the ground. The next thing she knew, she was back on the bed, her arms and legs pinned down. She started struggling.

"Ally, calm down!" The first, familiar voice commanded. Ally immediately stopped when that name was used.

"Do I know you?" Ally hesitantly asked.

"You tell me." He answered mysteriously.

Ally blinked several times and her eyesight gradually began to clear. When she could see properly, she studied the other programs in the room.

One was a girl with white and yellow circuits. What looked awesome about her was her blue hair. There was a male program standing next to her. He had brown hair, white and green circuits, and if Ally didn't know any better, she'd guess those two were together.

Lastly, she looked at the program that was pinning her to the bed. She gasped. Then she dared to say the name, to ask him if it was really him and that he was really here. "B-Beck?"

Ally struggled to control her breathing. "How are you even alive?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Beck said, releasing her wrists.

Ally sat up. "Why? All Gage did was kidnap me, and then force me to watch the warehouse you went to blow up. I assumed you were inside."

"Wait, you weren't inside?" Beck asked.

Ally shook her head. "No. Who told you that?" Beck didn't answer. "Wait, let me guess. Gage told you I was inside that building and you believed him!" Beck slowly nodded. Ally couldn't help but laugh. Zed and Mara smirked as well.

Ally looked at Beck's friends. "Who are they?" Ally questioned.

"Right, you guys never met." Beck exchanged looks with Ally and his friends. "Ally, these are my friends and coworkers: Zed and Mara. I met them after I came to Argon and got a job here at Able's Garage."

Beck looked at Zed and Mara. "This is my girlfriend, Ally. We met in Neon…and then we got separated twenty cycles after that. Not much of a story."

"Yeah," Ally said. She locked eyes with Beck. "Since when did you want to come to Argon? I thought we agreed to go to Purgos. Knowing you, you'd go there whether I was dead or alive. I came to this area after I searched the whole City of Purgos and never found you!"

Beck couldn't hide his emotions. There was guilt, amusement (from the fact Ally was in the wrong place at the wrong time), and relief that Ally was here.

Ally grinned at Beck. "But I'm glad to see you again, Beck."

Beck embraced Ally in a tight hug. "I am too. I'm so glad you're here…and not dead."

"Yeah, but I will be soon if you don't loosen your grip. I'm losing air!"

"Oh, uh, sorry." Beck let go of Ally.

"You've definitely gotten stronger since the last time I saw you." Ally commented.

"And you've been more prepared for combat than I remember." Beck retorted with a small grin.

Ally playfully punched Beck's arm. "You went through my stuff while I was unconscious!" Ally accused.

"It was Mara's idea!" Beck said, pointing to Mara.

Mara smacked Beck upside the head. "No one likes a snitch!" Mara hissed at Beck.

Ally nodded. "Mara has a point. No one likes snitches."

Mara mouthed "Thank you" to Ally.

Ally smiled and drew her disk. "What are you doing?" Beck asked.

Ally didn't look up as she activated her medical code and got to work. "The real question, dear Beck is: Who took care of my injury?"

Zed pointed the finger. "Mara did."

Ally eyed Mara curiously. _Is she a Special?_

Mara shrugged it off. "I'm just a mechanic. I'm not programmed to be a medic. I just…used to know one."

Ally nodded. "I'm impressed. You did a pretty **okay** job for someone who wasn't programmed for medicine. However, there's still traces of my wound so I'll take care of that."

Mara's eyes lit up. "Are you a medic?"

Ally was about to answer before Beck cut in. "Actually, she's a DJ."

Ally pursed her lips at Beck. "I wanted to tell them!" She flicked Beck's shoulder.

Zed stood up. "Well instead to coming to rivals so quickly, how about we all act like normal friends and hang out at the club or something."

Ally shrugged. "Okay, yeah. Sounds good." She grabbed her satchel and slung it over her shoulder. Then she checked her bag and legs to make sure she wasn't missing any grenades or batons. Then she followed Beck and his friends out the door.

They walked out of Beck's room and into the hallway. Then they all filed into the elevator. When they reached the main floor, they ran into Able.

"Hi, Able!" Mara greeted as she walked past.

Able looked at Ally. "Hello, who's this?" He asked Beck, who was holding hands with her.

"This is Ally, my girlfriend." Beck introduced Ally.

She shook hands with Able. "Nice to meet you." Ally said politely.

"I was going to say the same." Able said with a smile. "I'm Able; Beck, Zed and Mara's boss and owner of this Garage."

Ally smiled. "Well now I know where to go if my bike gets damaged." She said. Beck chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll see you around, Able." Ally said as Beck led her away by the hand.

They all took out their batons and rezzed their bikes. On the way, Ally challenged Beck to a friendly race…just for old time's sake. Beck accepted and his friends joined in just for fun.

Little did anyone know, Beck and Ally were completely oblivious to each other's secrets and their well-improved skills. Zed and Mara have had practice racing each other around Argon whenever Beck was absent, so apparently they all had tricks up their sleeves.

So far, Ally was winning. Zed smirked and pressed the overdrive on his bike. Beck rolled his eyes. "Zed's taking the long way. If we all take the route through this alley, one of us will beat him for sure!"

Mara grinned. "Alright."

They all turned into the alley, this time, Beck was leading the way. Ally was second, Mara was third. Throughout the alley, there were twists and turns at ninety degrees. Ally and Beck have both had tougher challenges, but Mara was beginning to fall behind. "Darn." Mara said.

Ally started to gradually catch up to Beck. Soon enough, she was right beside him. "Hi, sweetie!" Ally shouted. Then she hit a switch on one of her throttles and she went zooming far ahead. "Thanks again, Google." Ally whispered. Then she laughed at how far behind everyone was. She sighed and flipped her switch again, deactivating her personal overdrive.

"It's not always fun when you cheat." Ally said to Beck when he finally caught up.

Beck's confused look was priceless. "How'd you do that?"

Ally shrugged. "It's an overdrive of some sort. I don't know."

Beck leaned forward and smirked. "I suppose you just want a challenge."

"Of course I do! Why else would I deactivate my overdrive?"

Beck looked confused again. "I thought it burnt out. Because, you were going to fast I thought you overheated it or something."

Ally shook her head. "Nope, this is no ordinary overdrive."

Ally smiled when the end of the alley came into view. _Yes, I'm gonna make it. Just keep it up!_

Ally was the first one to exit the alley. Then her bike screeched to a stop right outside the club, followed shortly by Beck and Mara. "Aha!" Ally shouted in triumph. "I beat all of you! Ally is unstoppable! I'm number one!"

"Ahem." Zed coughed, leaning against his bike and smirking.

Beck's eyes widened in surprise. Ally's mouth gaped open. "But-wha-how?" She stammered. "How-how'd you beat me?!"

Zed laughed. "You think that I didn't expect you guys to take that route? Well you're not the only ones who know shortcuts!" He patted his bike. "Plus I have my overdrive."

Beck leaned in and whispered in Ally's ear. "I think you should've used your overdrive."

Ally looked back at Beck with a raised eyebrow. "You think?"

Mara giggled and hugged Zed. "You're sneakier than I thought you were. I'll be sure not to underestimate you again!" Mara said in a cryptic voice.

Ally laughed. "Oh yeah, you don't wanna underestimate anyone. That's the **worst** possible thing to do in a fight or competition."

Beck nodded. "Yes it is." He wrapped his arm around Ally's shoulder. "Now, are we going to stand out here and chat or are we going into the club?"

Zed derezzed his bike back into a baton. Mara pulled away from the hug. "Oh, uh, right."

Ally grinned. "Onward!" The four friends giggled and stumbled into the club. "This is gonna be fun!" Ally shouted with exhilaration.

"Shall we dance?" Zed offered his hand to Mara, who smiled and took it without hesitation.

Beck and Ally grinned at the newfound couple. Then they inevitably locked eyes for several long moments. "Uh," Beck started, feeling a bit awkward. "Should we," Beck began, pointing at Zed and Mara. "Follow their lead?" Beck offered.

Ally grinned, brushing a stray hair back into place on Beck's head. "Sure." She took her boyfriend's hand and let him lead her over to the dance floor.

The dance was long and fast paced. And what made it fun was the fact that Ally and Beck were doing fancy flips and twirls. Ally placed a hand on Beck's shoulder for support and did a cartwheel over his head. She landed neatly on her feet and turned around to face him. As part of the dance, Beck whipped a kick. Ally stretched her upper body backwards and still remained on her feet. She placed both of her hands on the ground for support and did a sort of bridge.

Then Ally lifted up her legs into a handstand for three seconds and leaned backwards so her feet would land properly on the ground and stood up. Then she ducked to avoid a swing. Her dancing with Beck almost looked like a graceful fight scene.

Then Beck gripped her hand and spun her closer to him so she was flush against his chest. They locked eyes and grinned at each other for a second. Then she spun out of his arms.

Ally let go of Beck's hand momentarily so she could spin several times. She eventually felt a little dizzy. The next thing she knew, she landed back in Beck's arms and he dipped her to finish.

Zed and Mara saw the whole thing and started clapping and cheering. Other programs followed their lead. Apparently, programs were paying attention and were entertained by the dance.

Ally smiled at Beck. He stared dreamily into her sparkly blue eyes. Beck started leaning closer to her for a kiss. Ally closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Before they could kiss though, noises of commotion rang throughout the club and continued outside.

Beck dropped Ally in surprise. Ally let out a startled sound and fell onto her butt. She glanced up at Beck and followed his eyes to the door. Ally gasped and stood up, gripping Beck's arm tightly. Zed and Mara scooted closer to them as well.

Beck and Ally both felt a sense of dread. They both knew that they were in trouble and hoped that they wouldn't be noticed much by these programs. But the odds were never really in their favor when they were together so why would they be now? Ally squeezed Beck's arms tighter, but he didn't take notice of that. He was more focused on the site before him. This was the moment he dreaded.

Occupation Soldiers began to file into the Club. Both programs just hoped that they weren't here specifically for them.

* * *

**Alright, so first of all, this is the longest chapter for this book yet. I definitely won't be able to beat the last chapter from my first book. that was huge!**

**Ally: Yes it was. It really connected the dots for a lot of things, right Beck?**

**Beck: Yep.**

**Zoe: *Crosses arms* I didn't like it, I wasn't even in there. Everyone was just talking about me!**

**Me: I wrote it that way so people would be curious to know who you were. I made you mysterious...like a ninja!**

**Zoe: That doesn't make sense! :(**

**Liz: YOU don't make sense!**

**Everyone except Zoe: OHHHHHHHHHH!**

**Me: Haha! Please review. TRON LIVES! Toodles. :)**


	7. Announcements and Actions

**Greetings, Programs...and Users...and ISOs...and Specials. XD It's chapter seven and it's sort of following the main plot I set up, but while I typed it, I had some ideas to add extra stuff and detail to it. I hope you like it. Some programs are going to do naughty things this cycle! You guys are gonna love it! Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 7 Announcements and Actions**

"**Move, Programs!"** The guards shouted as they marched into the club. **"Outside! Everyone's required to attend the Public Service Announcement!"**

Ally and Beck glanced at each other, hoping the other wasn't suspecting of their secrets. Ally couldn't afford to lose Beck again. And Beck didn't want to endanger Ally.

The Guards began herding the programs to Argon Square. "If Clu's this desperate for an audience like this, it must be very important." Ally commented.

Beck looked at Ally from the corner of his eye. He knew she had a point. Beck glanced upwards at the roofs all around Argon Square. He had to find Tron. But the odds of actually being with him for the announcements this time are not likely.

First of all, Ally was right next to him, he knew he couldn't get away like that. Plus there were guards at every exit and there were citizens everywhere that could see him sneaking around. Beck would have to see Tron later.

When the speech started, Beck expected Clu to be the one talking. Ally seemed to have expected that too. Apparently though, that wasn't the case. It was Dyson who did the speech. And instead of Dyson's face being displayed on the giant screen, there was a giant portrait of Clu on the big screen.

"Greetings, Programs of Argon." He began. Everyone remained dead silent. "We all know about the two masked vigilantes that run around the City and we simply can't have that. Of course, we all know that this…Renegade is no Tron. And Alpha is nothing more than a well-known petty vandal."

Ally clenched her fists. She stared up at the screen of Clu above Dyson's platform with cold, calculated eyes. "And," he continued. "All they both do is run about the streets, raining down chaos and putting lives in danger, am I right?" Dyson only got murmurs of both agreement and disagreement as an answer.

"Well, this Tron imposter will be brought to Justice! And the ISO Sympathizer will soon be out of the way!" Dyson put on a stern expression in front of the Citizens as he continued his speech. "Defiance will not be tolerated! Anyone who thinks that they're the exception will be derezzed! Anyone who knows any remaining ISOs will report them immediately! If not, derez them on sight! Anyone who knows of any Specials…will report them! Anyone who does not follow the rules that Clu set up when he first arrived, will be derezzed immediately!"

Beck heard different silent conversations erupt throughout the square. "What the heck are Specials?" Someone asked.  
"There are still ISOs around?" Another program inquired.

Dyson straightened up. "Never forget! Perfection is Freedom!" Right after he spoke, the yellow words 'Perfection is Freedom; appeared on the screens.

"I see they managed to 'fix' the screens." Mara commented. Zed only grunted in response.

Now, Ally was slowly reaching for her pocket while she kept her eyes trained on the screen. She pulled out what looked like a flash drive and pushed a button on the small device. It made nearly silent beeping noises. Then she put the device back into her pocket.

Beck subtly glanced back at Ally. Then there was something her eyes gave away. They were cold and calculated, but they also looked satisfied and full of pleasure. Dyson kept rambling on and on with his announcement.

Several nanos later, everything changed…literally. Next, the background screens that emanated yellow now showed off a soft, light shade of neon green. The words: 'Perfection is Freedom' reversed and changed color. They were now neon green and said: 'Freedom is Perfection'.

As the epic finale, the digital portrait of Clu turned into the large words: 'Tron Lives'. Inside the letter 'o', was Tron's emblem. The letters faded in and out of teal/turquoise and white colors as they displayed on the board.

Ally stared at the 'Tron Lives' board in shock. _Strange, two things happening at the same place at the same time. Could this cycle get more interesting?_

Then programs started gasping and staring at the rooftop just above the platform that Dyson stood on. Ally looked where programs were pointing and frowned. _Well…it looks like it just did._ Standing on the rooftop, masked and barely visible, was Zoe.

Ally face palmed. _What is she doing there?! And why isn't she running? She was just spotted!_

"**Halt, program!"** The guards boomed as they surrounded Zoe. Ally stared helplessly. There was nothing she could do at the moment. Zoe was on her own.

Apparently, Zoe had everything planned out. Because then, she jumped off the perch she stood on. As she plummeted to the ground, she opened up a wing chute. The moment she landed, she ran for the nearest alley and disappeared.

Afterwards, the guards started leading the citizens out of Argon Square so they wouldn't have programs in the way of their search. The crowds rudely pushed and shoved each other. Ally looked around, but completely lost sight of Beck. She couldn't see Zed or Mara either.

She sighed. "Okay, I think I can disappear now." She mumbled to herself. Just then, she was shoved to the ground. She looked around and saw the program that did it. "Jerk." She whispered behind his back. She got back up. She needed a distraction as a safeguard that she's get away without being noticed. "Hmmm…" she started thinking, then a smirk came to her face.

She knew exactly what she could do.

She reached into her satchel and pulled out a light taser. Then she fixed her eyes on the program that pushed her down. She made sure nobody was looking before she tossed the taser. It hit its mark on the program and electrocuted him into unconsciousness.

Programs gasped at the sight of the attacked program. Ally took the opportunity to ditch the crowd and run into an alleyway. Then she pulled off her disk and decided to take a risk of getting caught. She opened up the menus and changed her appearance back to glowing neon green eyes, sandy colored hair that was short and wavy, then she changed her suit back into her Alpha uniform.

She placed her disk back into its holder and put on her mask. She needed to find Zoe before someone else did. She had a feeling there was going to be trouble.

…

Beck looked around for Ally, Zed, or Mara. None of his friends were in sight. The rude crowd kept pushing and shoving around, which resulted in their separation.

Beck sighed. _Now would be a good time to find Tron._ He decided. He kept walking and waited for the right moment to separate from the crowd. Then he noticed a program had gotten tased. There were programs all around gasping and staring in shock.

Beck saw most of the programs focused on the unconscious program, so he split from the crowd and ran for the nearest alley. When he got inside, he started walking and keeping an eye out for Tron.

Sure enough, after a little walking, he came across his mentor. "Did you see all that?" Beck asked.

Tron nodded. "Things are really starting to get serious."

Beck raised an eyebrow. "Oh, things weren't serious already?"

Tron hung his head. "That's not what I meant! Things are going to get out of hand if we're not ready, which means we need to recruit more programs, and fast."

"And if we don't?" Beck asks.

Tron's expression turned grim. "Then we won't stand a chance when the Occupation attempts to flush us out." Beck frowned.

Tron then raised an eyebrow. "Did you see that 'Tron Lives' message?" Beck nodded. "That wasn't me who did that."

"I know, it was someone else. And it definitely wasn't Alpha either." Beck focused on the ground. "So…are we supposed to bring that program in?"

Tron nodded. "There's something about her that grabbed my attention. She has a strong will and she clearly believes in our cause. We might want to find her before Clu's forces do."

"Okay."

"It's going to be difficult though. If she is who I think she is, it's not going to be easy to get her to the hideout, so we need to do this quickly and effectively."

Beck nodded. "Got it."

"Good, now disguise yourself." Tron's circuitry on his disguise suddenly turned orange and he put on his mask.

Beck quickly changed his circuitry similar to Tron's disguise and turned them orange. Then he put on his mask and followed. "One question." Beck whispered to Tron, his voice disguised by his mask. "How do we find her?"

Then they peeked around the corner to see the masked female rebel walking down the alley. Though her back was turned to them, she had her disk out and she was clearly ready for a fight. "Oh, well that was quicker than I expected." Beck commented.

"Wait here." Tron commanded, standing up and giving Beck a light taser. "Stay hidden in the shadows, you'll know when to take action."

Tron disappeared around the corner before Beck could even ask what the point was for bringing him along if he wasn't even going to help take the target down.

Beck peeked around the corner to watch the confrontation happen. It was actually pretty cool to watch. The girl apparently sensed Tron coming and she turned around, throwing her disk in his direction.

Tron lowered himself to his knees and slid under the disk that came for him. Then he stood up and threw his disk at her for a distraction.

She easily dodged the disk, but she was so focused on that, she wasn't able to react quick enough when Tron kicked her into a nearby wall. Luckily for her, she was able to recover from the surprise and move sideways away from the wall before Tron could pin her there.

She then threw down a smoke bomb between her and Tron and started running in the opposite direction of her opponent, disk in hand. Beck got ready as she came closer to where he was. Now he understood why Tron left him here with a light taser. He knew she'd be able to get away, so he needed someone to get her while she was running away.

Just when she passed by the alleyway that Beck was hiding in, he stepped out right behind her and threw the light taser. It connected with her disk holder and activated. The shock wave coursed throughout her body and she fell to the ground, motionless.

Tron caught up and looked down at her prone figure. He sighed and glanced at Beck. "Now do you see why I instructed you to wait?"

Beck nodded. "I'll be honest, she's even better at fighting than Cyrus is." Tron shook off the comment. "Imagine what would've happened if you were still scarred when you fought her." Beck chuckled. "She would've beaten you for sure."

Tron looked back down at the unconscious program. "She's good, but she could use a little more practice. And she seemed to think I was alone."

Beck sighed. "That was a mistake."

Tron picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. "Keep this in mind. When you're being attacked, never expect it to be over. Always be on the lookout for more."

Beck nodded. "Good to know. And if I didn't know any better, I'd guess she wasn't fighting while using her eyes."

Tron looked at Beck. "What are you talking about?"

Beck shrugged. "Well she must've been listening more than looking. She probably heard you coming up behind her before she attacked."

Tron faced forward and kept walking. "She's aware that the eyes can deceive anyone. However, it would've been useful for her if she looked around to see if there were more programs. That was another mistake.

Tron was silent for a moment before speaking up again. "I should train you not to use your eyes. Maybe we should run a few simulations with a blindfold."

Beck frowned under his mask. "But I'll be beaten into cubes every time!" Beck protested.

Tron shrugged and adjusted his grip on the female program. "True, maybe the first few times. But you need to learn to not use your eyes and to trust your other senses. You can feel the vibrations on the ground if you're still enough. You could hear someone coming up from behind you if you're silent."

Beck glanced at Tron. "Have you mastered that skill?" Beck asked. Tron shook his head. "No, not entirely, but I've helped other warriors master it."

_Is there more to this than Tron's letting on?_ Beck wondered. He couldn't help but notice that Tron's been keeping his special eye on this program like he knows there's something more to her than what meets the eye. _Maybe there is._ Beck considered as he followed. This was going to be interesting.

…

Ally had scanned the alleyways and didn't find Zoe. For a moment while she searched, she thought she heard some commotion going on, but when she checked it out, nothing was there.

She was beginning to worry. There's no way Zoe would've been able to run without meeting up with her. The only way she could have avoided Ally is if she got captured, which Ally seriously doubted it would happen. _Or could it?_

Ally stopped walking to think of the possibilities. _Could she have been caught?_ The chances of that are highly unlikely but not impossible either.

After scanning the area one last time, she confirmed that Zoe either escaped or she was captured. Ally hoped it was the former and not the latter. If Zoe somehow managed to dodge everyone and escape, Ally didn't know where she could find her.

She sighed under her mask. _My duty's just got tougher._ Ally thought with a roll of her eyes. She turned to walk back to Able's Garage and meet back with Beck but stopped. _It can't hurt to investigate Clu's base in case he did capture Zoe._

Well…it **would** negatively affect her if she got caught while searching for Zoe in the prison hold. Ally shrugged. "If Zoe's there, then it's worth the risk." Ally mumbled to herself as she unclipped her light jet from her left thigh and pulled it apart to rez the vehicle to take her to Clu's Base.

It didn't take long to reach the airborne base. However, it appeared to be heavily guarded. Ally stayed out of sight of the guards and found an opening. She derezzed her jet back into a baton and landed on a small, unguarded platform.

Unfortunately, the platform was unguarded for a reason. There was no way inside from there. Ally looked around for an entryway. Then she spotted one. But it was a small vent and she had to walk along a narrow ledge on the outside of the ship to get to the vent.

Ally sighed. "I wish there was an easier way to get inside. At least there would be a less risk of injury."

She walked to the edge of the platform and carefully stepped onto the ledge. She pressed herself against the wall to keep herself from falling. The ledge was only about a foot wide, just barely enough space for her to keep her balance. The wind at this altitude wasn't helping either.

Nearly halfway across the beam, Ally almost lost her balance but she recovered and continued. She bit her lip and kept going. _Almost there…almost there…_ Ally finally made it to the vent and had to keep her balance on the ledge while she slowly crouched down and slid the panel open.

A gust of wind suddenly blew Ally and she lost her balance. She started to fall off of the edge but grabbed onto it at the last second. She hung there for less than a few nanos before she carefully climbed back up onto the ledge.

She crawled into the ventilation system and closed the panel behind her. Once inside, she inhaled shakily and gradually recovered from the ordeal and what could've happened back there.

"I'm **never** doing that again!" Ally hissed silently and started making her way through the vents. At some point, she peeked through a vent to see where she was.

She saw several soldiers of different ranks going about their business around fancy gadgets. Occupation programs were taking and giving orders and adjusting the instruments.

"The Control Room." Ally confirmed. "Tempting to mess with but…maybe later." She continued onward until she came across another vent to look through.

"Well, looks like I found the room where I had my little 'chat' with Clu." Ally muttered. "Well, I know where I am now."

She then turned and started making her way in the direction of where her old cell was. Ally was certain there would be other programs occupying the neighboring cells.

As she got closer, she started hearing voices. Then she found a vent that overlooked the hallway lined with the holding cells. Now that she was hovering over the scene, the voices were more distinct.

"You're only making this more difficult." Sky said to someone. (Most likely a prisoner) "Just give us the information we want and it'll make things a lot easier for you." He tried to reason.

When the program didn't comply, there was a noise of impact. "It's looks like we're doing this the hard way. Again." Another program spoke in a dangerous tone. The voice was familiar.

Ally gritted her teeth. _Dyson…_

Sky then spoke up. "I'm sure that there's a more reasonable way to do this, Dyson."

"Know your place, Lieutenant Skipper!" Dyson hissed. "I have my duties, and you have yours. Which, by the way, do not involve this prisoner!" Dyson smirked. "Unless you received another duty that I wasn't aware of?"

Sky shook his head. "No, Sir."

Dyson straightened up and glanced at the prisoner before looking back at Sky. "I think we've both forgotten your duties. Can you please refresh my memory and confirm what they are again?" Dyson requested.

Sky frowned. "Hunting the Specials."

"Correct, and is this program a Special?" Dyson asked.

Sky shook his head. "No, Sir."

"Then you have no reason to be here. However, in all fairness, you do deserve credit. Because if you weren't involved, we wouldn't have caught this program."

Several guards came and dragged the prisoner program through the hallway in the opposite direction of the interrogation room she was in before. Ally tried to catch a glimpse of the program that was held prisoner but she couldn't get a good look. She confirmed that the program was male.

Dyson followed the guards and prisoner through the hallway and through a door into who-knows-where.

Ally took the time to scan the cells for Zoe. She wasn't there, but she did find many programs she recognized. _Fellow Resistors!_ She realized. She knew that she couldn't just leave them locked up in there, despite the fact she didn't work with them anymore.

After many long nanos spent preparing a rescue mission, the door opened to reveal Dyson and the prisoner, held up by the guards. They walked down the hallway until they came across an empty cell and threw him into it.

The program stayed on the ground of the cell, too weak to get onto the bench. "Any luck?" Sky asked.

Dyson sighed. "Not yet, but I'll break him eventually." After that, Sky, Dyson, and the soldiers left the hallway. Now only the prisoners in their cells remained.

Ally's keen ears listened until the Occupations soldiers were long gone and was sure that no one would hear what would happen next.

_Time to make a dramatic entrance._ Ally thought to herself. She smirked under her mask and lifted one of her legs. Then she kicked the vent open with the high heel of her boot and jumped down into the hallway, landing gracefully on both feet and braced a hand on the ground for balance before standing up.

All pairs of eyes rested on Ally, except for the male prisoner that was still on the ground. "Alpha?" One of the programs asked. Ally recognized her as a fellow medic of the Resistance Movement. She realized all of them were from the Resistance Movement.

Ally lifted her index finger and positioned it in front of her mask as a 'shushing' gesture. She walked over to the main cell control panel and pulled out her smart drive. Ally plugged in the device and reorganized the codes until it made a quiet beeping sound and all the cells opened.

The programs came out of their cells and looked at Ally. "So what's the plan?" A black guard asked.

Ally's plan was merely one word. "Jailbreak."

Ally walked over to the motionless program that was still on the floor and turned him onto his back. She gasped.

She immediately recognized him to be Chad. He looked like he's seen better cycles. At least he was conscious, but he was very weak.

"What happened?! How did all this happen?!" Ally demanded.

A soldier frowned. "It was awful. Not long after you left, Skipper betrayed us. We were ambushed and now, Clu has the entire Resistors prisoner, we're not the only ones here. I'm guessing they're on other floors."

Chad finally had the strength to speak up. "Ever since we were all in custody, Dyson's been trying to pry vital information from me. My refusal to talk led to torture. I almost broke this cycle, but I had hope of eventually getting out, so I refused to talk. Hopefully after this cycle, if I'm lucky, I won't have to deal with that again."

"I've always hated Dyson!" Another soldier commented. "But I've never hated him to the point of wanting to kill him so bad!"

"Dyson is merciless." Ally said. "He'll do whatever it takes to accomplish his goals. Even if it results in killing or torturing someone." She looked at Chad. "I'm not going to ask what he did to you, but I will ask if he implanted something in you."

Chad shook his head. "No, he didn't implant anything in me. He just used various methods to inflict pain." He winced.

Ally helped Chad stand up. "We need to get out of here. All of you, including Chad, need to get out of here. I'll search the prison holds and free the rest of the programs."

"No." A medic shook her head. "We'll continue moving throughout the base while **you** get Chad out of here." Ally was about to protest when the medic stopped her. "It'll be quicker and more effective if the rest of us can divide into groups and split up to search the base for resistors. Besides, you're the best medic around here and Chad really needs to be taken to safety."

Ally sighed in defeat. The medic was right. Chad needed to get to safety and Ally was the best program to do that. She draped one of Chad's arms over her shoulders so she could support him and take most of his weight.

Then she walked through a door and continued down the empty hallways. They were sneaking around for a while before she heard two soldiers approaching from around the corner. Thinking quickly, she opened a random closet door and awkwardly pushed Chad and herself inside before they were spotted.

She decided that since they were hiding, they could take the advantage to rest for a few nanos and take a look at Chad's medical code.

Ally carefully drew Chad's disk and activated it to access the damages to his code. She sharply inhaled in between her teeth when she was wrong with his code. "That bad, huh?" Chad asked with a vague grin.

Ally shrugged like it was nothing. "I-I've seen worse, it's just…been a while." She hoped her excuse was convincing.

"I know you're lying." Chad accused. He gave her a look that told her not to lie.

Ally looked back at Chad's code and got to work. "I'm still pretty confident that I can fix this in no time."

"Don't make assumptions that you don't know 100% about." Chad warned. Ally waved away his comment.

"Hush, I need absolute silence so I can do my magic." She said in a dramatic, but quiet voice.

Chad smirked. "After all that's happened, you still have a sense of humor." He was silent for a while and watched Ally fix his code.

"I know Skipper hacked into your file." Chad blurted out.

This time, Ally looked up from what she was doing. "I know too." She said quietly.

"I realize now that there's nothing wrong with your mental status. Skipper gradually changed it to convince me that you couldn't handle what you were trying to handle so I authorized for you to be taken to mental recovery." Chad sighed. "But that was a mistake. Clu wanted us all separated so he could take us down one by one."

Ally looked back down at his disk. There were lots of orange colored codes in his disk that represented damage. She zoomed farther into the highly concentrated places so she could gather the corrupted coding into one giant blob.

Once she had all the orange colored code together, she extracted it. She grinned at the code in her hands. "Look at that!" Chad blinked and had a vague smile on his face. "I've never held this much damaged code in my life!"

Chad crossed his arms. "I thought you said you've seen worse."

Ally nodded. "I've seen worse, but I just haven't seen so much of this." She smirked. "There's a difference!"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Ally blew the undamaged code around until they were in their correct places and then placed Chad's disk back on. "There, your internal damages are fixed."

Chad frowned. "They were internal?"

Ally blinked. "Why else do you think you couldn't see the injuries?" She rolled her eyes. _Why try to explain? He'll never completely understand this._ "Come on." Ally stood up and offered her helping hand.

Chad simply stood up without help, proving he was fine now and needed no assistance. Ally rolled her eyes. "I can see you're fine now." She placed her head against the door and listened for any sound. There was none. She opened the door and stepped out with Chad behind her.

She thought back to her previous escape from this base and tried to remember where the wing chutes were. She looked around the hallways. Then she recognized the door that led to the room where she talked to Clu. Now she knew where she was.

"Let's go!" Ally took Chad's hand and led him through the series of hallways until she came to the exit that she used before. She placed her index finger against the surface of her mask to signal Chad to be quiet as she listened for any noise outside.

Judging by the sounds made, she concluded that there were three black guards outside on patrol. Ally turned to look at Chad. "How are your combat skills?" She asked.

Chad frowned. "Not so good; I'm not a field agent, you know."

Ally nodded. "I know. Uh, just stay out of the way and watch my back." Right then, she opened up the door and confronted her opponents. She pulled out a light taser from her satchel and knocked one out with it.

She then reached down and unclipped a baton from her right calf and rezzed a light sword. Then she reached over her shoulder with her left hand and drew her disk. Then she single-handedly fought against the remaining two black guards.

Ally looked over at Chad. "You need to go! Grab a wing chute and get out of here!" She ordered.

Chad watched her keep fighting. "Don't you stand a chance? Can't you fight them off?"

Ally locked disk to disk with one soldier and sword to disk with another. "Uh…" She bit her lip. _**Black guards are unique and highly unpredictable. Chances of making it out with friend are slim, but not impossible.**_ "Yeah! I promise to follow right after you!"

Chad started strapping on the chute. "For the record, I've never been really good at this 'on-the-field' stuff. And…I've never used a wing chute before."

Ally rolled her eyes under her mask and struggled to hold her lock with these guards. "You'll be fine, I promise! Once you land, look for a friend of mine! Her name is Evelyn. Find her, and then rendezvous with the Resistance Movement later! I'll be able to find you!"

Chad looked like he was going to argue and do something else but Ally wouldn't hear it. "Just **go**! Find her and don't stray from my orders!" Ally managed to push the guards away from her for a moment and rushed over to her friend. Chad hesitated to jump. Ally had to get him out of here quickly before they were both caught. She took off her mask and embraced Chad with a deep kiss.

He seemed surprised by the sudden surprise but then he relaxed and kissed her back. Then she slowly moved closer to the edge of the platform before breaking the kiss. "Goodbye, Chad." She said, and then pushed him off the platform. She didn't have time to even think about what she did and if she'd regret it later. She was more focused on the guards behind her.

Ally cartwheeled to the side towards a wall to avoid a guard's disk. She reactivated her disk and sword and prepared for round two. After several swings with the guards, she locked disk and sword with them again.

One of the guards broke the lock he had with her and kicked at her, forcing her to back up closer to the wall. Then he locked disk to sword with her again, slowly pushing her back more. The other soldier also broke the lock swung his disk at her and forced her further back.

Ally broke her lock with the other soldier and threw her disk at one of the guards. She then turned and jumped towards the wall, her feet met the wall and she extended her legs to perform a backflip over the guards. Then she caught her disk and tossed her light sword in the air and catching it.

"All right, who wants round three?" She challenged. The other two looked more…relaxed now. Ally's confidence suddenly melted into suspicion. _Why are they acting like that?_

A loud buzzing noise by her ears answered her question. The black guard that got tased had woken up. And he clearly wasn't happy either. Ally sighed and slowly moved to dock her disk in form of surrender. Then she turned around, and made it look like she'd hand over her light sword baton. But at the last second, she swatted him in the head with the closed baton. He fell to the ground again.

The other two soldiers moved forward to seize her but she reopened her light sword baton and drew her disk for round three. She clashed weapons with them again until she kicked one into the wall. Then she smoothly attached a light taser to the other one.

Then she turned around and punched the third guard in the mask and knocked him to the ground again. She docked her disk and put away her light sword and took the opportunity to catch her breath. It hadn't been easy, but she managed to single-handedly take on three black guards without any help.

Suddenly, her hands were quickly seized and cuffed behind her back. Then a pair of hands covered her eyes. "Guess who?" A familiar voice whispered into her ear.

* * *

**Me: So...what'd you think?**

**Ally: ... :O**

**Zoe: I was bested by somebody I don't even know! I'll be sure to get revenge!**

**Beck: It's just a test! I don't know you either! I was just listening to Tron!**

**Tron: Hey! Don't bring me into this! I'm getting too old for this stuff.**

**Evelyn: And I'm gonna have to meet up with the overprotective Resistance Movement guy. Yay... -_-**

**Chad: Alpha...kissed me! ^_^**

**Sky: Only because she wanted you to leave!**

**Everyone except Chad: OHHHHHHH!**

**Me: I'm just sitting here...watching in amusement. Who else likes watching this? ;D  
I'll be honest, I altered the words and battle sequences in my story to add in the part when Ally kissed Chad. If anyone remembers from my first book, Chad does have feelings for Ally. Who doesn't? Everyone likes her! And...the kiss might cause some unwanted conflicts later IF anyone finds out!  
Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter. TRON LIVES! Toodles! :)**


	8. Hard Times

**Hello, fellow Tron Fans! Unfortunately, I've been getting busier with Summer work and remodeling projects, and "family stuff" than I would like. However, it's out of my hands and I can't control it. As some of you have noticed, I'm doing weekly updates from now on due to my surprisingly busy schedule. Sorry. :(**

**However, I'll have more time to put some thought into my story and make the journey even more epic. XD  
I have something Special in mind for some of my characters in later chapters! ;)  
Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 8 Hard Times**

(Zoe's POV)

Zoe opened her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar dark room with an unusually bright light hovering over her. She frowned when she remembered the recent events that occurred earlier.

She moved to stand up but was disappointed when she realized her hands were cuffed behind her back and her feet were bound to the cuffs as well. The closest Zoe could get to standing was kneeling on the floor. She sighed. She'd just have to work with what she can do and what she has, which wasn't much.

Zoe blew a loose strand of hair out of her face and paused. Her hair was usually out of the way in her mask. She shook her head. Sure enough, her long, straight hair was brushing against her back and shoulders. Zoe pursed her lips in irritancy. Whoever captured her took off her mask.

To be honest, she didn't expect to be bested like that.

"You're finally awake." A disguised voice echoed throughout the dark room. Whoever spoke sounded irritated. She rolled her eyes. _That makes two of us._

"Yeah, whatever. Where am I?" She asked; no, more like demanded, really. She knew that Alpha was most likely out looking for her after the vandalism thing she pulled off. Apparently, she had a similar idea. She smirked when she recalled the 'Freedom is Perfection' message that she saw.

"What's so funny?" Her captor questioned. Zoe glanced behind her back and sure enough, standing behind her with his hands clasped behind him, was the program that she fought earlier. She immediately recognized him by his circuitry and mask design.

"Oh, nothing." She replied. "Just recalling what I pulled off earlier. I've never been more proud of myself." She knew saying that was practically a death wish, but she just couldn't resist getting on this program's nerves first.

The program started circling her, examining her up and down. "And you really believe that Tron's alive?"

Zoe grinned. "More than ever now."

He stopped circling and stood in front of her. "And why is that?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Do I really have to explain that? The Renegade is wearing Tron's signature white suit. If he really isn't Tron, then he must've known him."

The program's reply was not what she expected. "Interesting."

She rolled her eyes again. _This program is very annoying._ Instead of getting on his nerves, he took what she gave him and dished his own back.

Zoe closed her eyes. She had to come up with a way to bust out of here. She was not about to spend the rest of her life in Clu's clutches. She just couldn't!

Zoe absent-mindedly tugged on her handcuffs. She hated any type of confinement or restraints, not to mention that the cuffs are way too tight but she guessed the 'mysterious program' did that on purpose.

"Hey," She called out to him. "Do you think you can loosen the cuffs? Just a little?" The way he stood there and stared at her through his mask showed he wasn't about to fall for that trick. Zoe sighed. "I'd really like to have my hands later on."

"Your hands will be fine if you stop pulling on them." He said bluntly. He started circling me again. "Why exactly did you do that stunt during the announcement? Do you realize you could have been derezzed if you were caught by the wrong program?"

Zoe's eyes widened and she tensed up. _Uh oh, he may be on to me!_ "Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about." She lied. Zoe gritted her teeth right after that. She was such a terrible liar, and he obviously knew it.

"Of course you do." He stopped in front of her and clasped his hands behind his back again. That's all he seemed to do besides ask her questions. "We both know you're a Special that's on the run from Clu. Now answer my question! Why did you draw attention to yourself during the announcement?!"

_He said it! He just said what I've been trying to keep hidden!_ "Did you look at my disk?" She asked. _How did he know all of this already? _"Where's Alpha?! Where are my friends?!"

Zoe completely lost it and strained against her cuffs. Which still didn't give way, but there was nothing else she could do. But she swore, the moment she was released from her restraints, this program will be in for the fight of his life.

"The very moment I get free, you're the first program I'm coming after!" Zoe threatened, which he seemed completely unaffected by.

"Do you realize you're only making this more difficult for yourself?" He asked her. She scowled in response.

"Go jump off a cliff!" She shouted. She didn't really care what he did to her. She just wanted this program to know how much she really hated him.

He strode forward and grabbed her hair, yanking her head back. Then a blazing disk was held close to her throat. "You're one mistake away from being derezzed. Are you sure you want to keep fighting like this?"

Zoe gritted her teeth. "I don't care what you do to me. I won't stop fighting until I'm dead or accomplish my goal!" The next thing she knew, he withdrew his disk and his suit changed.

…

(Beck's POV)

Beck watched Tron interrogate the girl through a screen that viewed the simulation room. He couldn't help but notice that Tron was being very harsh with her. Even more aggressive than he was with him. He was seriously tempted to do something and intervene, but something told him not to.

Tron knows what he's doing, and Beck had to trust that fact.

He became very interested when Tron told her that he knew she was a Special on the run from Clu. Beck didn't know much about Specials, he didn't know anything actually, but he wanted to know more.

And the moment Tron said she was a Special, she freaked out. Apparently, she lost all self-control. Then he heard her tell Tron to jump off a cliff. Beck chuckled. She has a lot of nerve, he'd give her that. But she might've crossed the line.

Beck became petrified when Tron held his disk to her neck because the objective was to recruit, not to kill. But when he questioned her one last time, Beck realized this was all part of the test.

He had a feeling that this girl wasn't going to be happy when she realizes that all of this was a test, even if she finds out that she's dealing with Tron right now.

And the moment Tron revealed himself to her, the screen shut off so Beck couldn't see her reaction. Apparently the rest was private.

The elevator doors opened several nanos later and Tron walked out with the girl following close behind. Beck quickly put on his mask to hide his identity and walked up to greet her.

However, he shouldn't have approached her from the back. Because she immediately grabbed Beck and flipped him over her shoulder. Then he was on the ground and her disk was too close to him for his liking.

…

(Zoe's POV)

She knew someone was behind her. Zoe quickly grabbed the program and flipped him over her back. She only realized he was the Renegade wearing the white suit the moment she pressed her disk to his neck.

She grinned playfully and put on an act to cover up her embarrassment. "You know, you shouldn't sneak up on someone like that." Zoe deactivated her disk and traced it across the emblem on the Renegade's suit. "I don't think I'd want something like that to happen."

Tron rolled his eyes. "Enough with the flirting!" He pointed at Zoe. "You, get off of him." Then he looked at the Renegade. "And you, get up! You're supposed to be me! And for the record, she could never take me down. You're not convincing me that you're Tron!"

She got off the Renegade. "I told you no one would believe I'm you." He said as he stood up.

Zoe frowned. _So far, this Isn't going well and there are bigger problems outside the hideout._ "You convinced me." She grinned when his head turned towards her. "Seriously, I thought you really were Tron, until Tron revealed himself and explained everything about the big plan."

"Is that the only reason you came to Argon?" The Renegade asked her, sounding bored. She shook her head and barely managed to suppress a grin. Her **real** reason for coming here would've captivated both her comrade's attentions indefinitely.

But Zoe wouldn't tell them yet.

Not just yet…

…

(Chad's POV)

Chad made his way through the Argon streets. He hoped his mask was enough to conceal his identity. Lots of Clu's superior guards were searching the streets looking for him.

Alpha told him to look for a friend of hers named Evelyn. The problem is, she never told him where to look and how to find her. He couldn't ask her now because she wasn't there with him.

He thought about the kiss. From the way she acted, he knew she lied. She didn't escape with him off of the base. They weren't able to. One of them would have ended up captured. So she decided to fight off the guards while he jumped off the aerial base.

He hesitated though. He didn't want to leave Alpha's side…because he cared about her. Then she managed to push the guards away just in time to kiss him and use it as a distraction for him so she could lure him to the edge and push him off and to safety.

He sighed. _Alpha never told me how to find her friend! How do I find her friend?!_ Then he noticed a program standing in the alley. Apparently, he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings.

"Hey!" Chad called out to the program to get his attention. He turned around to face Chad.

"What?" He asked.

Judging by the circuitry pattern, the program was one of The Librarian's messengers. "Uh, do you think you can help me track down a program?"

The messenger tilted his masked head to the side. "Who?"

"A program named Evelyn."

The program didn't flinch when Chad mentioned Evelyn. But he spoke in an eerily calm, cautious manner. "I'll speak with The Librarian. She's the one who keeps archives on messages and programs."

The messenger turned to walk away. "Wait! How will I know how to find her?" Chad asked.

The program glanced backwards. "Don't worry, she'll find you." Then he disappeared into the darkness. Chad stood there, utterly confused. _How could she find me?_

Chad just shrugged and waited.

…

(Zoe's POV)

Zoe sat down on the stairs and propped her chin in her hand. She was troubled. Why wouldn't she be? Considering all the stuff she should be concerned about. But Zoe was mostly worried about Tron. She had a feeling that everything he's been through has taken its toll on him. He wasn't the same program he used to be.

The Renegade was sitting next to her on the stairs. Despite the fact that the big test was over and she was on the – now small – team again, Tron was still asking her questions. And to top it off, the Renegade was also joining in this time. Yay…

Zoe hated this. "Where have you been for the past 832 cycles?!" Tron half yelled, half questioned.

_Wow, I'm impressed that he managed to keep track like that. I usually just estimate time._

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry! I was busy hiding in the same City I was assigned, waiting for coded instructions from a certain someone who runs my operations!" She yelled back sarcastically. "Honestly! I was just following regulations!" It's really amazing how quickly Tron's training kicks in when you're in a sticky situation.

The Renegade chuckled and elbowed Tron. "Looks like someone's now been a good mentor to previous students like her."

Zoe glared at him. "Oh? Ya don't say!" She said in a loud sarcastic tone.

He crossed his arms. "Hey, I was defending you!"

She mimicked him and crossed her arms as well. "You could do a better job, Renegade!"

"Maybe I could!" He retorted. "Uh, **you**!"

Zoe lifted an eyebrow in confusion. "You?"

The Renegade rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, well." He sighed. "I don't exactly know your name." He mumbled.

She smirked. "You could've just asked." This was gonna be funny. "My name is: Zeal – Obligate – Elite."

"Uh, gee. That's a mouthful." He commented.

"That's why all the Specials are nicknamed." Tron interjected.

Zoe pursed her lips and glared at her mentor. "Tron!"

Tron smirked slightly. "He would've found out sooner or later." He merely responded.

"I would've wanted to be later." She mumbled.

Tron sighed, shaking his head at her with disapproval. He turned to the Renegade. "We typically take a Special's initials and form them into a nickname for them." He gestured to Zoe. "Her name is Zeal – Obligate – Elite. But she's known as: Zoe for short."

"Good to know." The Renegade said.

Zoe smirked. "Some Special's names are longer than mine. Wanna know some?" She offered sarcastically.

Tron frowned. "Let's not get off topic!" He snapped. "By the way, what **did** you do all that time you were gone?"

She shrugged. "Lurking in the shadows, hiding from Clu's soldiers, searching for my friends. You know, the obvious stuff that anyone would do."

The Renegaded turned and looked at her. "Who are your friends?" He asked.

Zoe looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "That's personal." She said in a dangerous tone.

Tron rolled his eyes. "Yes, it's personal. But we'll ask that again later." He looked at the Renegade. "You're too far ahead of me."

The Renegade chuckled. "I try."

She smirked and elbowed the Renegade. "Shouldn't you be out…uh…fighting guards? Rescue programs?"

"Actually, It's unusually quiet tonight." The Renegade responded.

Zoe straightened up. "That's not good." She bit her lip. "Hey, did you guys know that Clu has an aerial base somewhere in the Outlands?"

Tron frowned. "No," He walked over to his large screen. "But let's check it out." He found an image and zoomed in on it. "It seems…" He said, examining the structure at different angles. "That this is the reason why it's more quiet in the City."

The Renegade was now standing next to Tron, studying the image as well. "So…think Clu has something to hide?"

"Clu always has something to hide." Zoe interjected. _It was obvious. He's always hiding something. And whatever he hides is always big, otherwise he'd have no reason to hide it._

_And knowing Clu, he's most likely hiding something in that aerial base of his. Otherwise there'd be fewer guards posted in there and more of them keeping 'order' in Argon City_.

"We should check it out." The Renegade said.

Zoe stood up. "I'm with you on that one." She glanced at Tron. "Are you gonna stay here and be our technology guy or are you gonna back us up on the field?"

Tron didn't look up from his screen. "I'm going to keep track of what you're doing from back here. If you're stuck in a situation, contact me and I'll guide you through it. You know the drill. Just do what I say."

That's pretty much all Zoe does when she works for Tron. Just follow orders. Most of them are related to fighting and taking down targets. And other things on the field that's better to handle in the shadows.

In other words: Keep the work secret and under the radar. Don't take credit for what's done. It would suck for someone who likes attention, but Zoe doesn't mind. She hates large crowds anyway. In fact, she…gets kind of shy.

When she did her vandalism stunt in Argon Square. Only a select few programs knew it was her, and she knew who these programs were. So…she was fine.

Zoe was just glad that Tron didn't get on her case about that…yet. Hopefully he won't do that at all. _Because I do not need that right now; or frankly, anytime._

Zoe squinted at the screen. Something on it caught her attention. Something small was descending quickly from the base to the ground. "What's that?" She asked, gesturing to the screen.

Tron zoomed in on the figure. It was a male program in white primary circuits and yellow secondary circuits. His hair was black and short and stood up in the front, but it wasn't spiky. She squinted harder and got a glimpse of his eye color. They were a very dark green.

By the looks of it, he was an inexperienced skydiver who decided to jump off of the base with a wing chute. It was a stupid thing to do. Zoe theorized that he's probably an escaping prisoner from the base.

She shared her idea and theory with Tron and the Renegade and they agreed that it's logical. Then she noticed something strange about the situation. "Why isn't anyone pursuing him?" She asked.

Tron zoomed further into the image of the base. They saw a small platform where the program jumped off. There were two programs standing on top. One of them was hard to see, but his orange circuits were clear enough to recognize.

The other program was a bit blurry too. Zoe saw the familiar shape of a woman's body and barely caught a glimpse of a neon green colored circuit.

"Can you zoom in any further and focus the image?" She asked.

Tron raised an eyebrow at me. "Why?" He asked.

Zoe bit her lip. "I…think I see Alpha on the platform with that soldier." She pointed out her fuzzy image to my comrades. Tron had to override his large screen's capabilities to zoom in more and focus on the image.

Now the image made sense. Alpha was handcuffed and the soldier that was with her was the one who caught her. Zoe guessed she sacrificed her freedom to save the inexperienced program that jumped off the platform.

That's what Alpha's like. She's willing to give herself up if it meant saving a single, small, individual life. Zoe found that part of her personality to be touching not just for her, but for other programs as well.

However, now she's captured. And it appears Zoe would have to come to her rescue…again. But this time, She won't go alone. Apparently, the Renegade will accompany her.

"Looks like we're gonna rescue her." The Renegade said. From the tone in his voice, he sounded hesitant and wary.

Zoe smirked. "I wonder how Alpha will react to seeing us." She commented.

The Renegade shrugged. "She probably won't like the fact that I'm going to get involved with her problems. She acts like a jerk who doesn't like to be helped by others."

"Typical Alpha. She appreciates being helped; deep down. However, she has a habit of wanting to handle things on her own, without help and that sometimes just…doesn't work out very well."

The Renegade nodded. "It makes sense why she wants to do that. But…she could hurt herself."

Zoe smiled and started laughing, hard. He drew back at my sudden action. "I…fail to see the amusement in this." He commented.

She squeezed her eyes shut and laughed even harder. Tron looked away from the screen and stared at her with an odd expression on his face. It was priceless. Zoe wiped away a tear from laughing so hard. (Yes, like Users, Specials can form tears)

"What you fail to realize, Renegade, is that every program that's on Alpha's side always does that. They always say 'she's gonna get hurt' or 'Alpha, you can't keep putting yourself at risk like that'."

Zoe growled and clutched her head in frustration. "For crying out loud! That's exactly **why** she puts herself at risk! She can never seem to prove her strength to and capabilities to **anyone**!"

She absentmindedly glanced back up and saw that Tron was still staring at her, but he looks more freaked out than confused now. "What?!" She yelled somewhat aggressively at him. He quickly turns back to his screen.

Then she realized why Tron acted that way. Zoe face palmed.

_Jeez…_

He's never seen her like this.

Zoe quickly stood up and somewhat change the subject. "So! Why don't we go out and rescue Alpha before she has to deal with the awful, malicious dictator: Clu!"

She gripped the Renegade's hand firmly and dragged him to the elevator and head down to the ground-level. "You seem to know a lot about Alpha." He said out of the blue.

Zoe bit her lip. "Because she's trusted me enough to tell me that stuff." She said dryly.

"You sound like a good friend." The Renegade said. She was caught off guard by that compliment. It's been a very long time since she had a conversation like that.

And it was great.

She felt happy again…

Zoe violently shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Alright," She said, pulling out her light jet. "Let's go rescue Alpha."

…

(Ally's POV)

Ally sighed. "Hello, Lieutenant Skipper!" She greeted, her words sounded venomous. "Didn't think I'd see you so soon."

Sky chuckled and uncovered her eyes. "I guess it was an obvious guess for you, wasn't it?"

Dyson came bursting out the door. He scanned the entire platform, then his eyes rested on Ally. He slowly walked over to her.

Sky gripped Ally's shoulders and pushed her to her knees. Ally glared. "You." She bluntly addressed Dyson.

Dyson rolled his eyes. "Where is the prisoner?" He asked.

Ally smirked. "I'm not quite sure what you're referring to."

Dyson narrowed his eyes to slits. "Don't play games with me, Alpha. I know you busted him out. Now tell me where he is!"

Ally grinned. "Did I ever mention how much of stuck-up, sadistic jerk you are?" She asked.

Without warning, Dyson drew back his hand and slapped her hard across the face. Then Sky stepped in. "That's enough, Dyson!" He snapped. "She's a Special; she's **my** responsibility, not yours. Nothing about her should concern you."

Dyson gritted his teeth. "She knows where the prisoner is! Why don't you ask her if you don't want me to?!"

Sky looked down at Ally and locked eyes with her. "Where is the program that you busted out?" He asked.

Ally grinned. "Have I mentioned my term 'the good, the bad, and the ugly'?" Both Occupation Soldiers looked confused. "I'm good," She looked at Sky. "You're bad," She frowned at Dyson. "And you're ugly, mostly because of what Clu did to supposedly make your face **perfect** again. By the way, he didn't do a very good job."

Then Dyson lost his temper. He didn't seem to care about Clu's orders of not killing Specials. He drew his disk and attempted to strike her with it. Sky quickly blocked the blow with his disk. "You're not supposed to kill a Special, Dyson!" He shouted.

With both programs distracted, Ally quickly snuck away from both programs, stood up, and headed for the door. Because of the tussle between Sky and Dyson, neither of the programs seemed to notice Ally sneaking off.

She ran through the door that was still open and kept going through the hallway. _Running into an enemy building while I'm still handcuffed. That's a __**great**__ plan, genius!"_ She thought sarcastically. Ally rolled her eyes. This wasn't really the best plan, she'll admit that, but there was no other option.

Or was there…

Ally thought about it for a few nanos. _Nope, no other option._

She ducked into an open door which leads to a dark room. "Hmmm…going into an open door…into a dark room…while handcuffed. That sounds like a great idea, Dummy." She muttered to herself.

The door suddenly slammed shut, trapping her inside. Ally whirled around, her eyes widening.

A voice came over the speaker. "Well, well, well…look who finally arrived." The voice chuckled. "I'll be honest, you were expected to be escorted inside but you somehow made it here on your own."

Ally's eyes widened. "No…" She whispered. Then she sighed and rolled her eyes. _Nice one, dummy! Just fell right into a trap!_

Suddenly, the room started filling up with a type of gas. Ally sniffed the air and immediately felt dizzy. She coughed and exhaled to get rid of the fumes. It was a type of knockout gas.

Ally just held her breath, which wasn't easy for her to do, considering that she had no air whatsoever.

"Go ahead and hold your breath." The voice said. "Either way, you'll end up losing."

Ally ignored the voice. She tried to clear her mind and think of a way to last.

_**Step One: Put on mask, the filter will allow program to breath proper air.**_

She flipped on her mask and activated the filter so she wouldn't breath in the gas. Up until now, she'd forgotten about her mask and neglected to use it. "You'll have to do better than that!" Ally shouted.

A pair of doors opened up and a squad of elite black guards marched inside. Ally frowned. "Great…" She mumbled under her breath.

With her hands still cuffed, she just fell into a strong stance and prepared to do a lot of kicking. Even though she saw no way out of this, she wasn't going down without a fight.

That was for sure.

* * *

**Well, how was it?**

**Ally: I hate it.**

**Me: Why?**

**Ally: You make it look like there's no hope for me!**

**Zoe: She has a point, you know.**

**Me: Don't worry, I have it all figured out. ;)**

**Beck: Really? That's good! Because we don't have a plan, whatsoever. XD  
Don't worry everyone! Kai has it all planned out!**

**Me: What are you doing?! :O**

**Beck: What? You said you have it all figured out. That means we have nothing to worry about.**

**Tron: Gee, that was very considerate of you, Kai**

**Me: No! You have to have a game plan! I'll handle the rest!**

**Zoe: This isn't fun anymore. :P**

**Liz: Does anyone know if Grid Bugs like to eat Users?**

**Me: What kind of a question is that?! It's not even related to this!**

**Evelyn: *Smirks* I don't know, Liz. You wanna find out the answer?**

**Zoe: Yeah, I'm curious about that too...**

**Tron: I swore to protect and fight for the Users, so I can't agree to this.**

**Me: Thank you, Tron! ;)**

**Tron: But I wanna know, so I won't get in the way. :3**

**Me: Wait...WHAT?!**

**Beck: Then it's settled!**

**(Everyone has weird and creepy facial expressions)**

**Me: O_O  
Uh, this doesn't look good for me. Please review and specify what parts of the chapter you liked or thought that was interesting.  
TRON LIVES!**

**Tron: Thank you. :-)**

**Liz: Come here, Kai! We've...uh...got a cool suit we want ya to try on.**

**Me: No way! XP**

**Ally: Fine! Have it your way! v  
*Chases after Kai***

**Me: Toodles! *Runs and hides***


	9. Questions and Answers

**Greetings Programs! Yeah I know it's been nine days since my last update instead of seven. That was my fault. I went up to Breezy Point for three days, away from my computer. The rest of the six days were spent thinking about how I should type this chapter. Also, I recently spoke with a friend of mine about adding another OC character in later chapters. Heck, I practically add OC's every other chapter. In this one, I'm adding two more! :P  
Anyway, enjoy the chapter. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 9 Questions and Answers**

Beck's POV

Beck kept glancing at the Special riding on a light jet beside him. She was strange. And there was something about her. He couldn't quite place it, but there was something about Zoe that was strikingly familiar.

He shook off the thoughts; he had a lot more to worry about than something he's trying to remember. He followed Zoe's jet to the platform where he saw the scene take place and landed there.

"Should we be worried that there are no guards?" Beck asked.

Zoe shook her head. "Nope, the soldiers captured Alpha so Clu pretty much thinks he's unstoppable now." Zoe giggled. "That's a big mistake. He's up against the Renegade, Tron, and a Special who was trained by Tron."

Beck grinned under his mask. "That's right! We have a trick up our sleeve! Clu won't see it coming!"

…

Evelyn's POV

Evelyn strode throughout the large room, examining the labels of the documents. She usually had lots of free time, so she usually took the time to organize and reorganize the documents and archives.

The giant room she was in was known as the Library, because it's where all the files go. She was usually the only one who wasn't kept very busy and had lots of time on her hands, so she took it upon herself and kept track of all the messages. Obviously, that's how the earned the nickname: The Librarian-keeper of secrets and messages.

The nickname sounded lame, but mysterious at the same time.

Honestly, Evelyn kind of liked that nickname. It was better than being known as: Evelyn. Because…well…she was pretty sure that name was remembered to belong to the ISO that managed to survive the war…along with hundreds of other ISOs.

Unfortunately, during that particular War, their enclave leader didn't survive the attack. After that shocking event, Evelyn was brave enough to risk her life along with two other Specials in order to buy everyone more time to escape.

When she got back alive, she was deemed as a very brave and selfless program. Therefore, she was trusted to lead the refugees of ISOs to safety.

Since then she's…sort of been a replacement for their previous leader. The pressure of leading hundreds of innocent lives and keeping them safe was a heavy burden, but she was prepared and was determined to keep her species safe. No matter the consequences.

Her thoughts were broken when she heard someone approach her. Evelyn turned to greet a messenger. Assuming he was here to route his message, Evelyn asked her usual question. "Where is your message supposed to be routed?"

The messenger shook his head. "This is different. Someone's looking for you."

Evelyn froze for a moment, then regained her composure. "Oh? Well where is this program? Their message must be quite important if it requires my direct attention."

The messenger shook his head again. "No, he doesn't want to see 'The Librarian'! He wants to see 'Evelyn'…"

She inhaled sharply from the shock of hearing the news and abruptly turned to face the messenger directly. "Where is this program? Do you know who he/she is?"

The messenger let her questions sink in before shaking his head. "I don't know much about this program." He pulled out a holographic map and pointed out an alleyway. "I instructed him to wait here."

He then put the map away and disconnected his disk and pulled up a memory of the program. "That's the program."

Evelyn studied the program's appearance in silence. He had white primary circuits and the secondary ones were yellow. His eyes were dark green and his hair was black and cut short.

She didn't know him, but he seemed unknowing in the memory that the messenger showed her. "Hmmmm…" She pursed her lips.

"What will you do?" He asked.

Evelyn drew her disk and pressed a few buttons, and put her disk back on. All of her circuitry disappeared. "I'm going to meet him." She responded. "And I'm going to find out what he wants."

"And could you please look after everyone for me while I'm gone?" She asks "Last time…things got pretty messy. I know I can trust you to keep things in order instead of Cassandra?"

He chuckled. "Cassie, she's not quite the responsible one, is she?"

She then turned to exit the room. "Evelyn," He called out. Evelyn stopped and turned slightly to acknowledge him. "Be careful." He cautioned.

Evelyn smiled slightly under her mask and gave a gentle laugh. "I will, don't worry about me, Valor. I'll be fine. I promise." She exhaled. "After all, we're ISOs! We're capable of making it out of sticky situations!"

Valor nodded. "True, there's a reason how we survived the ISO War." He stared hard at the floor through his mask. "We've lost so much because of the War though. So many friends, our home, even our original leader…gone…lost."

Evelyn straightened up. "But we haven't lost the War, Valor."

He looked up at Evelyn in surprise. "What do you mean? Clu's forces prevailed, they forced us into hiding and now they think they've purged our entire species."

Evelyn nodded slowly. "True, we're in hiding. Clu's forces prevailed…for now." She turned around to face Valor completely. "But it's not over yet. Look in the mirror. Look at me. Look at your friends, the rest of your species. Are we still here?"

"Yes, barely though." The messenger answered quietly. Evelyn walked over to him and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Everyone says that Clu's forces won the War and the ISO Sympathizers lost, but that's not the case." She frowned. "Valor, we're still here; and there are a select number of Specials and Basics out there that still care about us. Heck, we even have the Users on our side."

She slowly started to smile again. "Soon, when everyone's ready, we'll strike a powerful blow on Clu and his forces and we'll have our victory, our freedom…and our revenge."

Then, Evelyn turned and walked out the door, heading for the exit of the facility to greet the mysterious program that was looking for her.

…

Zoe's POV

Honestly, Zoe felt good now that she was back in her regular habits. Going on missions, saving lives, beating bad guys, however, this time it's different. This time, the stakes are higher, she's rescuing her best friend and is being accompanied this time.

She was also inside a vent, in front of the Renegade, leading the way. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" He asked her from behind. Zoe rolled her eyes.

"No, I don't know where I'm going! Would you care to take the lead since you seem to know everything?"

He shook his head. "Nope, I have no idea where we are. Please continue leading me. Since you're so **Special**, I'm sure you'll be able to find your way to Alpha if you're the one leading."

Zoe nodded. "That's what I thought." She kept crawling through the vent, followed by the Renegade until they both heard a scuffle going on, along with sounds of struggle.

Zoe quickly kicked open a vent panel and dropped down to the floor. Once the Renegade was by her side, she slid the panel back into place. Then she followed the noise closer and closer until they stopped at a closed door.

Zoe pressed her ear against the door and listened for a moment. Then she pulled away and looked at the Renegade. "Yep, the noise is coming from here."

He drew and activated his disk. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's do this!"

Ally's POV

Ally wasn't going to last much longer. Sooner or later, she was going to get captured. She kind of was already. It counts if she was handcuffed and locked in a room with knockout gas.

But she's not going to be considered suppressed until the guards subdue her. And she wasn't going to allow that without fighting first. Clearly the guards knew that because they weren't trying to do much except tire her out. And it was starting to work.

Within several micros of fighting, she found herself gradually getting slower and her strength was starting to fail her. She tried to kick one of the guards again, but he caught her leg and twisted it so she'd lose her balance and fall over.

Her hands were already cuffed, so it saved them the trouble of doing that. Several guards grabbed her upper arms and pulled her to her knees and kept her there. And to make things worse, they'd somehow deactivated her mask and exposed her to the knockout gas.

Ally hung her head and accepted defeat. It wasn't like she had a chance in the first place, however, there was still something that made her hope that she'd make it out. It was stupid. She was just fantasizing.

She felt so fuzzy and tired and miserable that she didn't even notice the sedation that was injected into her.

She really shouldn't have gotten her hopes up like that…

…

Beck's POV

Zoe took a deep breath before kicking down the door. A cloud of bluish gas poured out from the room. Zoe gagged and put on her mask, coughing a few times. "Oh man, I feel dizzy."

Beck turned towards a crowd of guards. One of them was now lifting up a female program with neon green circuits into his arms. He immediately recognized her as Alpha.

While only one black guard was holding her in place, the rest of the squad was confronting him and Zoe, who looked like she was about to fall over.

One of them tried to kick Beck's mask, but he grabbed his ankle and twisted his whole leg, causing him to spin in midair and fall onto the floor. He then punched one in the gut while managing to turn and kick another into a wall.

One of the guards snuck up behind Zoe and threw his arms around her torso. She quickly backed into a wall, making sure he took the damage. Then she shook her arms free and grabbed him, flipping him over her shoulder.

Another guard charged at her from behind. Without looking, she formed her left hand into a fist and back-handed him in the helmet. The guards then fell over.

Within several more nanos, all the guards were on the ground. The only guard left was the one with Alpha. Beck and Zoe walked into the foggy room and over to the guard.

"Okay, man." Zoe says sarcastically. "We can either do this the easy way," She reactivates her disk. "Or the hard way…" She finished the second option with a threatening tone.

The guard quickly deposited Alpha's unconscious figure onto the floor before running over to a wall and putting his hands behind his head to show surrender.

Beck put away his disk and rushed over to Alpha. He had to admit it at least to himself, but Beck thought that Alpha looked cute when she wasn't conscious. He carefully scooped her up into his arms and turned to face the exit and paused.

Pavel was blocking the doorway. To make matters worse, he was wearing the upgrade weapon. Beck almost dropped Alpha when he realized it.

Pavel let out a burst of powerful, red energy while he laughed maniacally. "Well, well, well…long time, no see, Renegade!"

Beck groaned. "Great, just what I needed and-" He paused. "Is that the upgrade weapon?" He asked, mostly to himself.

Pavel cackled. "You thought you destroyed it, truthfully, it was. However, little did you and I know that the weapon is capable of regenerating itself. I guess you didn't destroy it the right way. Pity."

Zoe grins from behind Pavel. "Well, obviously you want a fight. Am I sufficient enough for you?"

Pavel mocked a concerned face. "Are you sure you want to do that? I'm afraid that I'll end up scarring that pretty little face of yours."

Zoe grimaced and reactivated her disk. "You make me sick! Now come over here and face me like a real program!"

"With pleasure…" Pavel sneered. He charged at her without further hesitation and locked disks with her. "You know, this would go a lot faster if you just surrendered and gave up yourself along with your allies. Then no one would get hurt."

Zoe smirked. "Now where's the fun in that?!" She tore her disk away from Pavel and kicked him into a wall, then locking disks with him again. "I always like a little challenge."

Pavel scowled at her. "Then it's such a pity that you won't stand to see your reflection in the mirror ever again. I'd really hate to mutilate you."

Zoe grinned. "No worries." Then she unlocked her disk from Pavel's again and knocked his disk out of his hand and into hers. Pavel backed into the wall until he stood there with Zoe holding both disks to his throat.

Instead of derezzing him, Zoe just lifted one of her hands up and elbowed him in the head, knocking him out cold. Then she dropped his disk without a care and turned to leave with the upgrade weapon. "Let's make sure that this gets destroyed for good." She said to Beck as she passed by him.

"Yeah, good idea." He commented. Beck followed Zoe outside to another platform. He looked down at Alpha and shifted her unconscious body in his arms as he rezzed his light jet and headed to the docks with his partner.

When they landed, Beck gently laid her down while Zoe bent down close to the water and gathered up some in her hands. Then she turned on her heel and walked back over to the pair of programs. "Alpha always seemed to like water, so let's give her some."

Zoe smirked and dumped the water onto Alpha's head. She immediately jolted awake. "Ah! What's going on?! Where am I?" She sat up and looked at the Renegade. "You! What are you doing? I thought I told you to leave me alone!"

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Calm down, friend." She placed a hand on Ally's shoulder. "It's all good, you're safe now. And I'll be honest with you, if the Renegade and I weren't working together, we both probably would've been captured and I'd never make it out."

Alpha sighed and sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "Well, I managed to bust out of there before, all on my own."

Zoe placed a hand on her hip. "Really? Then they must've increased the security since your breakout."

Alpha nodded. "Yeah, looks that way." She stood up and frowned at Zoe. "Oh, and I almost forgot something."

Zoe lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"

Alpha slapped Zoe across the cheek and then shook her by the shoulders. "What in User's name were you thinking back at Argon Square?! You realize that was a stupid thing to do during an important speech with hundreds of programs crowded there!"

Zoe frowned at Alpha and brushed her hands off of her shoulders. "Um…I think you've forgotten. You were vandalizing too during the announcement."

Alpha looked like she was going to strangle someone. "Ugh! I had a button synched to the screens! I was hidden among the crowd, where the guards wouldn't see me! I wasn't standing on some rooftop, changing the screens by hand!"

Zoe set her jaw. "Well at least I'm okay and that I **didn't** get caught by Clu's guards! I'm getting impatient and I just wish we could all rally the programs and strike a powerful blow against Clu right now!"

Alpha frowned and placed her hand on Zoe's shoulder. "We will rally them, but it takes time to get word out. First I have to contact Evelyn and ask her to send word to all corners of the Grid, specifically to the rebellious programs. We have to be careful though. Clu has guards and undercover soldiers everywhere. Things like this take lots of time and we have to be very organized with this."

Zoe threw her arms into the air. "Well it's taking too much time! And there's only a limited amount of time that we have! Sooner or later, Clu will have taken over everything and everyone on the Grid if we don't speed things up!" She paused. "And who the heck is Evelyn? Is she who I think she is?"

Alpha nodded. "Trust me, things will make much more sense when everyone's together." She narrowed her eyes. "Together…together…tog-" She gasped. "Oh my gosh! I totally forgot!"

"What is it?" Zoe asked curiously.

Alpha shook her head. "Never mind, I have to go! He's probably worried about me!" She took out a baton and rezzed her lightbike, leaving them behind with lots of questions in their heads.

"Hmmm…that was weird." Zoe commented.

"She seemed extra strange this cycle." Beck replied.

"We'll worry about her later, she can take care of herself…most of the time. Now we've got to report to Tron and give him the blueprints of the base that I managed to snatch and also tell him about that upgrade weapon. Apparently you tried to deal with it before."

"I-I destroyed it!" Beck said. "How could it possibly still be intact like I never touched it?!"

"Occupation scientists are very careful with their projects. I'm sure whoever made this designed it to be able to regenerate when or if it got damaged. We just need to try again."

"Well, let's go then." Beck said, rezzing his light jet and heading for the hideout. Zoe rezzed her light jet and took off after the Renegade.

…

Chad's POV

It didn't take long before he was confronted again. But this time, it was a girl; not the male messenger that he originally spoke with. "I heard you were looking for a specific program by the name of Evelyn. Before you speak face to face with her, tell me who you are and why you're looking for her."

"Um…my name is Chad. It's a bit of a long story why I'm looking for her." He explained.

"Can you shorten it?" Evelyn asked, folding her arms.

Clu capture me along with the Resistance Movement, Alpha found us and busted everyone out except herself. She told me if there was anyone to trust, it would be her old friend, Evelyn."

Evelyn stiffened. "Alpha didn't make it?" Chad shook his head. She sighed. "Come with me." She beckoned him to follow her through the maze of alleyways.

Chad hesitantly followed. "Uh, so when or where do I meet this Evelyn program?"

"Patience is a virtue, Chad. Just wait, she can't reveal herself right now. Not until we're safe." She cryptically replied. She stopped in front of a dead end in an alleyway and waved her hand over its glossy surface. A keypad appeared and she tapped in a code. The keypad then vanished and a door appeared.

Evelyn opened the door and went inside, making sure that Chad followed and then closed it behind them. Chad followed her through the dark hallways until she opened another door and led him into a large room.

Chad looked around the room briefly and noticed a lot of files and archives on the surrounding shelves. They looked very organized. He turned back to the female program that led him here. "So uh, where exactly am I?"

He heard her sigh. "You're so full of questions, aren't you?"

Chad frowned. "I just want to know what exactly is going on. Alpha told me to find Evelyn. She said that the program could help me. I don't even know what I'm doing."

Evelyn lifted her hand in a calming gesture. "Alright, settle down. I couldn't reveal myself, let alone tell you anything outside because it was risky. I didn't want anyone to hear or see me."

Chad lifted an eyebrow. "Are you-"

"I'm Evelyn." She finished for him. Then she took off her mask. "I met Alpha a long time ago, during the ISO War. I'm sure you know about that."

Chad frowned. "I didn't realize Alpha was connected to the war until recently. When I first met her, she'd taken up the nickname: Al. When I found out her true name, I realized who exactly I was with and I connected the dots of her past." He paused. "Though I'm sure that there are some bits and pieces of information that are missing."

Evelyn nodded. "There are a lot of details missing, but it's best if they're not mentioned."

Chad looked around the room again. "So, Evelyn where are we, exactly?"

"You're in the library." She answered matter-of-factly.

"Library? You mean, we're in The Librarian's hideaway?" Chad asked.

"I am The Librarian." Evelyn answered, sounding bored. "There's a lot for you to learn. I think I can trust you enough. However, if I'm proven wrong, I will kill you, even if it means going against Alpha's request to protect you. Understood?"

Chad nodded quickly. "Yes ma'am." He started to wander around the room and explore the archives on the shelves. "Honestly, I thought The Librarian's only allies were the messengers."

Evelyn folded her arms after changing back into her normal uniform. "I just say that so Clu doesn't come after me. Alpha's a dear friend and we have an unbreakable bond that formed during the War. We have worked out a series of plans and strategies for striking blows against Clu's forces."

Chad tilted his head to the side. "A series of plans and strategies? You mean you have plan A, plan B, plan C, etc.?"

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, we're very organized. All Alpha has to do is tell me which protocol we'll initiate and then I'll instruct the messengers to deliver the plan to certain areas of the Grid. Then all we do is take part in the plan."

"I forgot to ask. How exactly did you manage to get messengers for that type of duty?"

Evelyn smirked. "You don't realize that the messengers and I are all in this together. We never leave each other's side. Because we're all secretly against Clu and Clu, unknowingly, is against us."

Chad was confused. "What do you mean?"

Evelyn smiled. "You'll find that out later. I think I've told you enough this cycle. How about I show you where you'll stay until further notice."

Chad nodded. "Alright then." He followed her through another maze of dark hallways until she opened another door.

"This is where you'll rest." Chad gazed into the room. It looked pleasant. The small room was furnished with a bed, a side table with a few drawers, and it had a closet.

Evelyn walked over to the side table. "See this dresser?" Chad nodded. Evelyn opened up the top drawer. "There's a variety of grenades stored in different sections of this drawer. As you can see, the sections are labeled."

She closed the top drawer, and opened the second one. "This one, again, has labeled sections to organize the batons in here." She then closed that drawer. Then she pointed to the third drawer. "That drawer will store your belongings…if you happen to have any."

Chad watched her turn to leave the room. "I recommend you get some rest now. You probably need it after all that you've been through. When you're well rested and ready, meet me back in the Library. We still have some stuff to go over and we have a lot to do."

Chad nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Evelyn walked out and closed the door quietly behind her, leaving Chad alone. He pondered over the previous events that happened recently. He wondered why Alpha chose their escape to be the time to kiss him. He wasn't sure if she even liked him. _Was she aware of my feelings?_ He wondered. She probably did since she kissed him.

Though there was something off. Her kiss was passionate, but it just didn't feel right. He was pretty sure that she didn't have any romantic feelings for him. She didn't have any feelings for the guys in the Resistance Movement.

He felt really conflicted about Alpha now. The feelings weren't as strong as before and he was starting to feel something different from a crush. He was starting to feel more…friendship with her instead of the special feelings he once had for her.

Then he started to wonder if the rest of his fellow resistors were okay. He hoped they were. He really cared about the medics and soldiers that were a part of the organization. Together, they stood strong against Clu. However, they were in captivity and some were separated, making them weaker.

He wondered if Alpha was okay. He knew what she was capable of; she could handle herself. But he knew that if programs didn't act against Clu's forces soon, they may not stand a chance later on. Even worse, the Grid may not stand a chance if the rebellious programs don't get more help.

Hopefully, in later time, if they win the war and overthrow Clu, things can be set right, and the Grid could once again be free. But it all depends on their actions. One slip up, and they may lose their chances of ever being free.

* * *

**Well, that was quite a chapter. All's well. Ally got rescued, Chad got to Evelyn safely. By the way, Evelyn clearly showed a somewhat darker side to the ISOs who happen to want revenge. That part makes me shiver...with EXCITEMENT! XD  
On a side note, I have a Poll on my Profile Page that'll decide whether Book 3 will be an AU of Legacy or something else. Remember that I have a wild imagination but I have trouble making decisions sometimes. I'll take down the Poll and look at the votes by the time Book 2 is finished.**

**Liz: When will Book 2 be finished? And when do I get involved in the Revolution?**

**Me: All in good time, dear program.**

**Tron: Yeah, be patient. I don't want to turn evil just yet.**

**Me: Oh don't worry, that won't happen for quite a while. I only finished chapter 9! We have a long way to go!**

**Zoe: Too long if you ask me.**

**Evelyn: Patience is a virtue.**

**Me: Right ;D**

**Beck: Oh, what's up?**

**Me: Uh, we were talking about how we'd bring Bodhi back to life.**

**Beck: Really? =D**

**Me: NO**

**Beck: Not cool, Kai...not cool... -_-  
I'll be sure to get you for that.**

**Me: Yeah, sure you will. :P  
TRON LIVES! Toodles!**


	10. Flash From the Past

**Greetings fellow Tron Fans! :D  
I apologize for being three days (or cycles) overdue for chapter 10, but I hope you think it was worth the wait. Oh and on my profile page, you'll find an organized method that I, along with other Tron Fanfiction authors will be using to keep track of time on the Grid.  
We're about to see some depth in Liz and Zoe's past a little bit in this chapter. And I made sure that everyone would have a pairing. I'm still thinking about Courtney though. Hmmm...  
Also, I think I should give a little heads up this time. But there is going to be some...uh...active behavior between Beck and Ally. You all have been warned. I'll give a little author's note where it starts.**

* * *

**Chapter 10 Flash From the Past**

Zoe's POV

Zoe landed her jet at the base of the hideout and ran to the elevator, not bothering to wait for Beck. The doors shut behind them and they ascended floors until they reached the main room that Tron was usually in.

Tron looked away from the screen and at the two programs. "You're back already?" Zoe cocked her head and frowned in response. Tron rolled his eyes. "Never mind, I forgot how fast you work."

Zoe held up the power upgrade weapon. "We came across this during our rescue mission. What is it, exactly?"

Tron's eyes widened slightly and he quickly strode over, snatching the weapon from her hands and examining it. "How'd you find this?" He asked.

Zoe shrugged. "One of the commanders was wearing it."

Tron narrowed his eyes and turned to Beck. "I thought you destroyed this!"

The Renegade threw his hands into the air. "I thought that too! I sliced it in half with that high-powered laser! I don't understand how all of this happened! The weapon seemed to have regenerated on its own!"

Zoe sighed and sat down on the stairs. "So what do we do? Go venture to a place with a high-powered energy laser and destroy it again?"

Tron paced the hideout and kept examining the weapon. "I suppose. However, you need to destroy it properly; it can't be sliced in half. It needs to be blasted into little pieces or nothing at all."

Zoe shrugged and stood up. "I can do that. Just tell me where the laser is."

Tron shook his head. "No, this is a task for him. You don't need to assist him on this mission."

Zoe smirked and crossed her arms. "I wasn't asking anyone's permission."

Tron frowned and crossed his arms as well. "Well I wasn't authorizing you to go on the mission. This is the Renegade's assignment and his only."

Zoe blew a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Really? Are you sure he's capable of this? Because last time, he apparently didn't manage to destroy that thing."

Tron ignored Zoe and turned to Beck. "You can go now. Zoe and I are going to chat for a little bit."

Beck nodded and left the hideout, weapon in hand. When the elevator doors closed behind him, Tron turned back to Zoe, who folded her arms. "Why? Why'd you hold me back? You've never done that with me before. You know what I'm capable of! I can handle myself out there just fine!"

Tron nodded. "I know you can. But I need to talk to you about some important things. That's why I sent him out on the mission alone. We need to catch up on some things; also on a side note, he needs the practice."

Zoe frowned. "I'm not sure about this. I know he's the Renegade and he's supposed to do things on his own and everything. But during the mission, I've noticed that he's a little inexperienced. Are you sure you should be sending him out without anyone at least keeping an eye on him?"

Tron rolled his eyes. "I've sent him out on his own plenty of times. And I'll admit that I've noticed that there are some things that are a bit…off. That's why I made sure he carried a distress signal device on him. So there's nothing that either of us should worry about."

Tron pointed to the stairs. "Sit down; I need to know what happened to the others."

Zoe glanced at Tron, then looked at the floor as she strode over to the stairs and sat down. "I don't know where everyone is, but I'll tell you what I remember."

"Fair enough." Tron responded and crossed his arms. "Do you know where Liz is?"

Zoe shook her head. "Unknown location and status."

Tron frowned. "Hmmm…well we know about Alpha now. What about Con, Ken, Reni, Ace, and the rest of the team?"

Zoe sighed. "Uh, Con's fine; I think he's still out there. Ken's okay too, wasn't caught yet, as far as I know. I don't know where Reni is. And Ace…well uh…" Zoe trailed off.

Tron realized there was a problem and nodded. "It's fine, I think I understand."

Zoe looked away. "The rest of the team though…got caught. That, I know for sure."

"Hmmm…other than Alpha, do you know where the rest of your friends are?"

Zoe shook her head. "Liz vanished, Tris got recruited by Clu along with several other Specials, and Courtney…well…I-I don't know. I hope she's okay. The rest of the Specials we didn't mention disappeared or got captured. A select few joined Clu."

Tron crossed his arms. "We don't appear to be in a very good position at the moment."

Zoe nodded. "I'd agree."

Tron hesitated before asking. "I know this question is a long-shot for an answer, but I don't suppose you know where Google is?"

Zoe sighed. "I don't know his exact location but I know he hasn't been captured by Clu."

Tron visibly relaxed. "Well at least he's still out there."

He turned and noticed her stifle a yawn. Zoe glanced over at Tron and noticed him staring. "What?"

"You're tired." He responded. "You should rest, at least for a while."

Zoe frowned. "No, Tron. I'm fine, really." She couldn't hold back another yawn.

Tron rolled his eyes. "Mmhm you're definitely fine." He responded sarcastically. "Go to your room."

"But-" Zoe protested.

"That's an order." Tron interrupted.

Zoe growled and turned on her heel, leaving the main room and heading for her small room that Tron was so kind to set up for her. No, it was set up when the hideout was first created. Zoe wasn't quite sure why Tron made a guest room but it's useful now.

Zoe opened the door to the room and walked inside. She unclipped her batons and gear that she had on and tossed it onto a nearby desk. Then she walked over to the bed and sat down on it.

She chewed on her lip, thinking about her fellow comrades and what they were probably doing this cycle. She sighed and hung her head in her hands.

Everyone's she knows has been asking her where she's been lately and what happened to the programs she knows. She's felt so terrible about it that she didn't feel up to giving out details.

Clu's betrayal, the ISO War, the total blindness and lack of conscience in certain programs has thrown the entire Grid into chaos. She wished she know **exactly** where everyone was. Every program that was part of the small group of Specials was different and was better at certain things than others were. And that small group of Specials were recruited by Tron to be a secret, small elite team that could work together to accomplish anything.

Reni was a good, loyal friend and an excellent program when you needed someone to watch your back. She wasn't good on the front lines but she was better at covering a fellow agent.

Con was strong and out-going, but he typically didn't think before he acted and that sometimes got him into trouble and sticky situations that were difficult to get out of. But when you needed muscle to move something or hold off a squad of soldiers, he was the right program to do it.

Ken was a program that was better at thinking things through but acting the part…well…was a whole different story. He doesn't always follow through and always leaves destruction in his wake. Avery had a weak mental barrier though. He was usually cool and calm, but could easily get angry or agitated.

Google was part of the group. Though he wasn't technically a Special, let alone part of any of the three species. He was a program that Flynn created himself. Google was a search engine. He was very smart and was better working with technology than going out on the field. He was a genius with softwares, meaning he could hack into other systems, unnoticed and give the stolen information to Tron, who could use that information to restore peace and order to conflicts.

Liz, of course, was also part of the secret group. She was strong-willed and motivated. She had plenty of strength in her, and had lots of common sense. But she could easily be offended, especially if her friends are being bothered. Unlike Zoe, she never told Alpha about working for Tron and thought it best if it was kept secret from everyone except her fellow agents.

And Ace? Well…he was more of the…unpredictable type of Special on the team. He was an almost perfect agent that Tron could get. Ace was pretty decent with planning and following out on missions. He was very skilled with infiltration and was just as good with fighting opponents. Though he can have a complicated attitude. He's either dead-serious all the time, or bouncing off the walls and being a crazy, humorous maniac.

Together, the group would be able to infiltrate anywhere, take on anyone, and fight the Grid's enemies anytime. However, they were all caught off guard from Clu's betrayal. Of all the programs to be corrupted and turn their back on Flynn, no one thought it'd be Clu.

But Zoe noticed Clu's odd behavior, the way he looked at the ISOs. It was a betrayal that she should've seen coming. Ace seemed to have an idea of what was going on with Clu, it almost showed on his face. He had a habit of spying on others so it wasn't a surprise that they were having the same theory of it. Their suspicions were confirmed when they heard news of the ISO War.

Of course, during the War, Tron had sent Zoe on a solo mission to the City of Beryllium to check out a gang problem there. The rest of the team, including Ace, stayed in Tron City.

Zoe gritted her teeth when she thought of Ace. The moment she got her hands on him, she'd tear him to pieces for all that he'd done. He used to be an excellent program that worked under Tron's command, but he did something terrible to betray the rest of his comrades.

(Flashback)

Zoe walked through the headquarters towards the secret room that she, along with a select few other Specials were allowed in.

She ran her hand along the wall until a code pad appeared on the wall. Zoe placed her hand on the pad and it scanned her code. A few nanos later, the pad made a small beeping noise and the doors opened, letting her inside.

She barely made it inside before she was smothered with greetings. Ken came up from behind, putting her in a headlock and giving her a noogie. "Zoe! You're finally here! We've got noobs to say 'hi' to!"

Zoe grabbed Ken and flipped him over her shoulder. He lay on the ground, almost looking shocked. Zoe kneeled down and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll get to that a little later."

Zoe looked across the room and waved to Google, who looked away from what he was doing and waved back. He seemed to be the only program to give her a normal welcome. She vaguely noticed two new programs standing nearby him, leaning against the wall. Surprisingly, they were doing nothing but watching. Zoe guessed they were the 'noobs' that Ken was referring to.

Then she got her third friendly 'hello' when she looked away from Google. Con tackled her to the ground and pinned her down while he counted to ten. Before he finished though, Zoe untangled her leg from under him and hooked it around his body. With a jerk of movement, she was on top of him.

"Again, you won't beat me in a wrestling match, buddy." Zoe held Con down for ten seconds and was about to get off of him when she heard light footsteps. When they stopped, Zoe looked up to see a pair of wedged heels in front of her face. She looked up higher to see another pleasant friend of hers. "Hello, Liz." Zoe addressed her with a smirk.

Liz blinked and smirked when she realized that Zoe was still on top of Con. "Well this looks fun, can the rest of us join?" Then she shouted. "Hey everyone! Dog pile on Zoe and Con!" Every Special in the room stopped what they were doing.

Zoe glared at her. "You. Did. Not!"

She smirked. "Yes. I. Did!" She then jumped and body slammed the two other programs. Within a nano, every Special joined in and there was a pile of Specials wrestling and rolling around on the floor.

Then Liz and Zoe especially were grappling with each other. "You won't win, Liz." Zoe shouted. "I've beaten you in wrestling before, I've beaten everyone!"

Liz smirked. "Not this time!"

At that very moment, Tron walked into the room to start training and abruptly stopped and stared at the programs jostling around on the floor. Apparently, no one seemed to notice anyone new in the room and continued their wrestling matches.

Tron looked around the room and saw two new Specials standing across the room and staring at the other programs in surprise. One was male with dark red circuits and the other was female with light green colors. Tron frowned at them and then turned his attention back to the Specials that were wrestling and yelling.

He sighed and began to pry the Specials away from one another, when he had their attention he started yelling. "Stop the roughhousing! Now!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stayed in frozen positions on top of each other keeping their full attention on Tron, waiting for orders. Tron narrowed his eyes at them. "Line up." He then turned to the two new Specials on the other side of the room and beckoned them to stand closer to them.

The agents quickly untangled themselves from one another and lined up. Tron started doing a slow pace in front of the line with his hands clasped behind his back. "That…was an unexpected surprise. I never expected you all to act so…immature. You're secret agents, not a wrestling team. It's okay to act playful and silly once in a while but at times, you have to be mature and take things seriously. You can't fool around like that every cycle."

Tron then turned to the two new Specials and told them to introduce themselves. The female spoke up first. "My name is Reni. It's short for: Rapid – Earnest – Nifty – Idealization." The group of Specials nodded in acknowledgment.

Then the male introduced himself. "I'm Ace. It stands for: Abiding – Candid – Efficiency."

Tron folded his arms. "Nice to meet you both. And-" A faint beeping noise caught Tron's attention. His face hardened. "I apologize to have to leave like this, but I have to take care of something." He turned and gestured to Zoe. "I'll have Zoe explain the rules, regulations, and requirements. Some just call it the three 'R's. I'll be right back."

Tron then turned and left the room. Zoe turned to her comrades and dismissed them, then gave the newcomers a brief explanation of what to do in the headquarters and laid down the ground rules.

By then, Tron came back and continued explaining what to do around the base and what-not.

When Zoe was dismissed from duty for the rest of the cycle, she sat down on a bench in the room with a glass of energy and relaxed. Ace walked by her and she stopped him. "Uh, hi." She greeted him. She tried to be friendly with him. It was better not to make an enemy with someone on your team. "So…how was your first day so far?"

Ace shrugged. "Well I wouldn't make an opinion about it. I just spent the whole cycle just standing there and observing how everyone acts and reacts. And to learn what things are normally like."

Zoe nodded. "Okay then…" She grinned. "Well tell me how you're second cycle is then." She turned to walk away then stopped and looked back at him. "You know, perhaps we should do a playful disk war sometime. I'd love to see what you're capable of."

Ace smirked. "I'd love to do a disk war sometime. But I warn you, I'm very competitive."

Zoe kept a poker face. "Oh? Well I'm sure you'd be very difficult to beat."

Ace kept a steady gaze in her eyes. "You look like you've been here for a while. I'd say you'd make a challenging opponent." He folded his arms. "I'm always up for a challenge."

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then you're in for quite a challenge in training." Zoe took a sip from her glass. "Oh and if you're overconfident during real missions, things could get more dangerous."

Ace rolled his eyes. "I mix 'danger' into my energy and drink it at the start of every cycle!"

Zoe mocked a sigh and took another swig of energy. "Whatever…" Ace shrugged and walked away with a satisfied smirk.

When he was out of sight, Zoe grinned evilly. "Ooh, you're in for it next cycle, Ace. Just you wait." She muttered. Then she started to lightly giggle. Then that giggle turned into a maniacal laugh. When she finally calmed down, she saw Liz looking at her funny.

Zoe narrowed her eyes at Liz until she looked away again. "Next cycle, Ace is going to have the challenge of his life.

(Back to Present Time)

Zoe smirked at the memory. She was overconfident and wasn't entirely sure what Ace was capable of. When they started training, he nearly beat her. If there was one thing about his personality that she missed, it was his ambition.

Despite Ace's great skill in combat, he was never able to beat Zoe in any form of training. Zoe remained number one in ranking with Ace in second place. Liz was in third place, Con was after her, then Ken, and lastly, Reni.

Ace kept working hard and exhausting himself trying to get number one ranking but Zoe stood strong and kept her place. Though Ace never got first place, he was still satisfied with his skill and abilities. And thankfully, he was never sore about that minor issue. He was actually pretty friendly with everyone on the team and always liked competition.

After several HiloCycles, Tron had sent Zoe to Beryllium for and undercover mission alone. Apparently, there was a lot of gang trouble there and Tron needed his best agent to go out there and give him a good look on the inside and gather some intel. Then they could start planning to resolve the issue.

Not long into the mission, Zoe had a feeling of something bad going on. She could literally **feel** it in her code. So she attempted to check in with Tron early through I/O node, but no one answered.

After that, it didn't take long before word spread of the ISO War…and Tron's defeat. ISOs were being slaughtered, Specials were being searched for, Basics that got in the way faced derezzolution.

Zoe then heard that a small portion of Tron's team of Specials got captured, the rest fled. One of them joined Clu's forces and assisted in leading the purge of the ISOs.

Zoe later found out everything and accepted the fact that she was truly alone. She didn't know where her friends were at the time and the ones' locations that she did know of, were either on Clu's side or locked away. The rest of them seemed to have disappeared.

Zoe shook her head to clear the painful thoughts. Those were dark times. Tron was thought to be dead, there was no Renegade at the time, and she had no idea where any of her closest friends were. She buried her head in her hands. It was painful to be betrayed by someone you were close to and trusted; that's how she felt when it happened.

Then those miserable, sad thoughts were replaced with bitter hatred and the urge to kill. It was no big deal to derez a program. It was part of training with Tron to do whatever's necessary. And all that hard training pays off later.

Truthfully, she felt no regrets for her thoughts and actions in the past, she felt nothing at all. She was empty of emotion and dealt with everything effortlessly. In the present, she acted humorous and playful still, but deep down; she could feel all of her negative emotions getting stronger by the cycle.

One cycle, she'd burst. And the outcome wouldn't be pretty.

Zoe sighed and lay down on the bed, slinging an arm over her eyes. _This isn't the cycle for that though. But it'll come soon._ She closed her eyes and relaxed for the first time in MilliCycles.

…

Ally's POV

She pushed her bike to go faster as she raced back to Beck's place. She slammed on her brakes. _Where is Beck's place?_ Ally face palmed. She'd totally forgotten where Beck lived. "Great job, Al." She muttered sarcastically. "Way to observe your surroundings."

She quickly glanced around the empty streets. It was past curfew. Ally looked at her suit that she was wearing. She'd already changed her appearance to her citizen disguise. She needed to find Beck quickly.

Ally wasn't sure how long she was gone, but Beck most definitely noticed her disappearance and would no doubt be worried about her.

She chewed on her thumbnail, trying to remember the sector of Argon that Beck lived in. She remembered the building that she was in to be very large. Sort of like a warehouse.

When she was there, she met Beck's boss. His name was…Able? Beck worked and lived in Able's…Garage! Ally was glad to remember the name of the place; she just needed to remember where.

She mentally retraced her footsteps from the club, back to the Garage. When she figured out the route, she needed to figure out where **she** was.

Ally climbed onto a nearby rooftop and looked around for the giant garage that Beck worked at. It was somewhere close to the sea, which was a plus for them. They could go swimming again, just like old times.

She shook her head to clear away the distracting thoughts and scanned the surrounding buildings until she found Able's Garage. Ally pulled out her baton and jumped off the building, rezzing her bike. She gradually made her way to the Garage, hoping there wouldn't be any tension between her and Beck later on.

…

Beck's POV

It didn't take Beck long to sneak back to the Garage. He needed to destroy the upgrade weapon immediately. He quickly made his way to the back room in the Garage where the high powered energy laser was.

He quickly placed it on the small platform and looked around the room as a precaution to make sure no one else was around. When he was sure he was alone, he activated the laser and watched the weapon get completely disintegrated.

When he walked over to the platform, all he saw was ash from what remained of the power upgrade. Beck quickly cleaned up the mess and was about to go to his room when he paused. _Where's Ally? Is she upstairs with Zed and Mara?_

Beck ran to the elevator and tapped his foot repeatedly until it reached the top floor where the apartments were. He dashed down the hallway to his room and went inside. He searched everywhere and didn't find Ally in there.

He ran out of his room and to Zed's apartment. Beck lifted his hand to knock but paused and frowned when he heard movement and giggles coming from Mara. Beck shook his head. _Ally's definitely not in there._

Beck ran back to the elevator and went back down to the main floor. He peeked inside the break room. Ally wasn't there. He ran all over the place and still didn't find Ally. "Ally? Ally! Where are you?!"

Beck turned to face the giant entrance of the Garage. His eyes widened. _She couldn't still be out there…could she?_ His eyes widened. "Oh, no…" He pulled out his lightcycle baton and rezzed it. "Just going out, after curfew. I just hope Ally's not in some sort of trouble and just happens to be lost."

Beck panicked. _What if she ran into Gage? What if she's in the games now?_ Beck shook his head. "No, Ally's okay, she's still out there. I know her well enough. She's strong."

Beck raced through the streets on his bike, searching frantically for Ally. She was nowhere in sight. _Perhaps she made it back to the Garage?_ Beck wondered. He turned his bike around and headed back.

When he got back to the Garage, he didn't find her there. It was false hope. Beck sat down on his bike and hung his head in his hands. "How could I do this? I let my work get in the way of my relationship and now I just lost someone important to me."

…

Ally's POV

Ally just got back to the garage to see Beck sitting on his bike with his head resting on his hands. She frowned and silently walked over to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you okay, Beck?"

He sighed. "No, I lost Ally and I have no idea where she-" He looks up and flinches at the sight of her. "Oh, there you are, Ally."

Ally smiles slightly and giggles. Beck jumps off his bike and hugs her tightly. "Where have you been? I was so worried!"

Ally inhaled through her teeth in shame. She honestly hadn't meant to worry Beck at all. _I really have to work on laying low, instead of getting involved in every single conflict._ Ally thought. She frowned. "I'm sorry, Beck. That crowd back at Argon Square sure was rude. I spent some time looking for you after we got separated. And then…I got lost."

Beck closed his eyes and sighed. "Well at least you got back safely. Argon is a big City and at times, isn't always safe. I'm sure you learned some of that the hard way?"

Ally inclined her head. "In a form or way." She pulled away from the hug and looked outside.

Beck looked at his girlfriend after putting his bike away. "Do you have a place to stay?"

Ally didn't move. "Well I obviously have to stay here until curfew is over."

Beck raised an eyebrow. "Well curfew isn't over until several PectroCycles from now. And you know that question wasn't what I meant."

Ally sighed. "No, I was supposed to get an apartment this cycle but I kind of got caught up in chaos earlier." She stole a glance at Beck. "As you know, of course."

Beck shrugged like it didn't matter. "Don't worry about it. You can just stay with me if you want." Ally froze and looked at Beck. The situation immediately became awkward. "Well, uh…don't take it the wrong way."

Ally giggled. "Uh, no worries. I think we both find it strange that we've…you know, done romantic things except share an apartment. I'll find one as soon as possible next cycle."

Beck shook his head. "You don't need to do that. I'm perfectly happy to share an apartment with you."

Ally smiled coyly. "Really?"

Beck grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Sure, don't we still have to catch up on some things?"

Ally shrugged. "I don't know. You'd have to ask me the questions and I'll answer them as best as I can." Beck chuckled and kissed her forehead as they stood in the elevator. Ally raised her eyebrows. "Hey, where's Zed and Mara?"

Beck tensed up. "Uh, how do I answer that?" Ally looked at him quizzically. "Um…they're doing boyfriend and girlfriend things in Zed's room."

Ally immediately faced forward. "Oh, sorry I asked." There was a moment of silence before they both bursted out laughing. "I knew it! I knew Zed and Mara are so perfect together."

Beck smiled. "To tell you the truth, I also worked to set them up. It feels good to see your friends enjoy themselves and have some fun."

Ally nodded. "Yeah, they're both so cute."

Beck quickly swept Ally off her feet and carried her into his room, bridal style. Ally squealed a little from the sudden movement. "Would you agree that we're cute together?" Beck asked.

Ally grinned. "I think we're more than that. I believe we were always meant to be together." Beck gazed into Ally's sparkling blue eyes. Beck's bedroom door let them in and he gently set her down on his bed.

Then he climbed on and sat down, facing Ally. The room a faintly lit and it made Ally look even more enchanting. "You're so beautiful right now." Beck commented.

Ally smiled and blushed. Thankfully, the lack of light made it almost unnoticeable. "Uh, thanks. You're not so bad yourself."

Beck smiled and leaned forward a little. Ally did the same until their lips barely brushed. "You know what?" Beck asked. "I think you're right. We were meant to be together." Ally smiled and pressed her lips firmly against his.

She wrapped her arms around Beck's neck and pulled him closer to her. Beck's hand found her waist and rested there while the other one wrapped around the small of her back.

**(Alright this is where things get a bit active. If you want to skip it, just scroll down to the next minor author's note.)**

They layed down on the bed but didn't break the kiss. Beck reached out and traced her neon green circuit on her suit and heard her gasp from the sudden excitement.

Ally locks eyes with Beck and rolls on top of him, a playful smirk on her face. She leans in to kiss him again but licks his cheek and traces one of his white, primary circuits.

Beck shudders and grips her shoulders firmly, flipping them over again, him on top this time. Ally kept playing around with a circuit on his shoulder with her bare fingertip while he leaned in for another kiss.

He pushed his tongue inside her mouth and she finally moaned from the pleasure. One of his hands squeezed her waist a little while his other hand tangled in her straight hair for more control.

**(And this is where it stops. Yeah, I know. It wasn't much but I think I suck at writing that kind of stuff. XP)**

Eventually, they broke the kiss. Ally exhaled deeply. "Did I ever tell you enough times that I love you?" She asked, sounding tired now.

Beck smiled at her and nodded. "Always."

Ally gradually relaxed on the bed and sighed. "I love you."

Beck wound his arms around her torso, pulling her flush against his body. One of his hands was laced with hers. "I love you too."

Ally rested her head on Beck's chest and closed her eyes. She was exhausted.

Beck smiled at her relaxed figure and kissed her on the cheek one last time before lying down completely. His arm was still wrapped around her waist and his other hand was laced with her fingers. His whole body spooning hers.

Beck really loved being around Ally. Her personality was intoxicating, her eyes were enchanting, and her laugh was the most beautiful thing he'd ever heard. Everything about her made Beck feel weightless, and it was wonderful.

And Ally's feelings were mutual. She felt safe when she was around Beck. He always comforted her when she needed it and knew how to give her a good time.

Beck closed his eyes and went into sleep mode. Ally stayed awake for a bit longer, despite being tired. Though she was happy and felt safer than ever, she couldn't help but notice that something was a bit…off.

From what Ally noticed, nothing changed much about Beck. Maybe it was her. She changed drastically after the accident, and the separation probably took its toll on both of them for a while.

It was painful to split up from your mate for a long period of time. And neither of them knew if their partner was alive or dead, which made things seem even worse. Ally was truly surprised that she and Beck were both reunited by chance, the same way they originally met.

She thought about all the times she had been saved. Beck saved her life twice, Zoe saved her life once, the Renegade saved her several times as well, and Cutler rescued her one time when she got captured during the ISO War.

She owed a lot of programs her life. Ally hated to be in other's debt. She always wanted to stay equal and accomplish things on her own.

Also, she's been too active on the field as her alter ego. Now Clu is going to extreme lengths to find her. And if he starts to catch onto what she's doing, Beck and the other innocent, friendly programs she knows would be put in jeopardy.

They didn't deserve that.

Next cycle, Ally would have to come up with something to fix these specific issues. Because if things don't work out well, she'd no doubt pay the price for her mistakes. And she didn't want Beck or her closest friends getting in the crossfires.

Ally snuggled closer to Beck (If that was even possible) and started to slip into sleep mode as well. She knew Beck was capable of holding his own in a fight, but if something happens and he needs help. She vowed that she'll be there for him, just like he was there for her when she needed it. After all, she owes him **big time**.

* * *

**Okay, another chapter done. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the reviews. Uh, however if it's about something else then it's probably good to PM me. A little shout out to QuilSniv's fan fiction: Tron Aftermath. I really like the story and can't wait 'till the sequel.**

**Zoe: Oooh what's the story all about?**

**Me: I don't know the details! Just read the first three chapters if you're curious. They'll explain everything. Introductions are always slow but they're crucial to read BEFORE you get to the exciting stuff. You know, details and stuff. It's not even that boring.**

**Ally: Could you guys be quiet?! I'm trying to have some alone time with Beck!**

**Evelyn: Uh TMI, Alpha...TOO MUCH INFORMATION!**

**Ally: I don't caaaare!**

**Liz: Meh, leave the lovely couple alone. It's not every cycle that programs get to make love.**

**Everyone except Liz, Ally, and Beck: EWWWWWW!**

**Liz: Ahhhh...the beauty of life.**

**Zoe: *Throwing something at Liz* Disgusting, Liz!**

**Me: Chika, that wasn't cool!**

**Liz: *Rolls eyes* Whatever, it's reality.**

**Me: *Facepalm* Anyway, please review, vote on the poll I have on my profile page, ummm...what else? Watch Tron Uprising and keep the views up. Hopefully we'll get a Season 2 to finish up this series and answer some of our questions.  
TRON LIVES! Toodles! :)**


	11. Not Your Average Cycle

**Greetings Programs! Obviously, I haven't updated for several weeks after I specifically announced that there'd be weekly updates. Unfortunately, school is getting in the way of my writing time and I've had less and less of opportunities to write. (Plus some things happened to my computer that I had to fix. While I was at it, I spent some time messing around with the colors and wallpapers. Now my internet pages and Microsoft Word Documents look TRON-Themed. It's so cool!) My dearest apologies for the inconveniences and late updates, though. Nonetheless, please enjoy this chapter. (I have a little twist that comes in to play)**

* * *

**Chapter 11 Not Your Average Cycle**

Ally's POV

Ally was still asleep when Beck woke up. He unwrapped his arms from around her and poked her shoulder. "Ally? Ally, we gotta get up now. We've got a whole new cycle ahead of us."

Ally moans and rolls over, going back to sleep. Beck sighed and stood up, placing a hand on his hip. "What am I gonna do with you?" He asked, mostly to himself instead of Ally. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced out the window.

Something big caught his eye. _The sea?_ He looked back at Ally's figure, curled up on the bed. Beck's blank expression turned into a devious smirk. He knew exactly how to wake her up.

Beck walked back over to the bed and picked Ally up in his arms. She shifted silently. "Beeeck? What are you doing?" She asked, her words slurring.

Beck couldn't help but chuckle as he left his room and stepped into the elevator. "It's a surprise. Don't peek." Beck insists.

Ally sighs and closes her eyes again, obviously still tired. Beck walks out of the Garage and stands by the shoreline.

"Ready?" Beck asks, grinning.

Ally yawns. "Could I possibly get five more micros?" She asks.

Beck rolls his eyes with a smile. "Nope!" Beck says, tossing her into the sea.

Ally lets out a startled cry before splashing into the chilly water. A few nanos later, she resurfaces, definitely wide awake now. She spluttered around and gasped. Then her eyes focused on Beck. "Now that…" She said. "Was uncalled for!" She smirked and splashed Beck with water.

"Ah!" Beck yelled as the water soaked him. "It's cold!"

Ally nodded and grinned. "Uh huh! That's what you abruptly **dumped** me into!"

Beck bit his lip, unable to stop smiling. "Well I had to find some way to wake you up." He said as he held out a hand and helped her climb out of the water.

Ally sighed and patted his shoulder with her now cold, clammy hands. "Well…congrats! Because you managed to fulfill your goal." Ally wrung out some of the water in her hair and shook her head wildly to get more droplets out. "You know, Beck," She started. "If you really wanted to go swimming this cycle, you could've just let me know."

Beck chuckled. "But I had a sneaky suspicion that you'd just say 'later'."

Ally nodded. "You're probably right." She said, turning and walking back into the garage. She walks by Zed and Mara, who seem to be bright and happy this cycle.

"Hi, Ally!" Mara said, grinning. Then she looks at Ally up and down. "You're soaking wet!"

Ally smirks at Mara and Zed. "I've got an intelligent boyfriend who knows what wakes me up." Mara looks at Beck with an odd expression.

"Really, Beck?" Zed asks.

Beck shrugs. "Why not? She likes swimming."

Mara rolls her eyes. "Smooth move, Beck!"

Ally laughs. "It's no big deal! In fact, I feel refreshed." She rests her arm on Beck's shoulder and leans against him. "Besides, I'm very crafty and I have my ways of getting revenge."

Beck's eyes widen slightly. "Oh? Like what? You plan on splashing water on me when I least expect it?"

Ally suddenly becomes interested in the ceiling. "Maybe…or I could do something more extreme, possibly." Ally winks at Beck and digs into her satchel, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. She puts them on and flips her hair dramatically. "I'll come up with something."

Beck chuckles and kneels down to work on a lightcycle. "I'm sure you will, darling." Ally giggles and turns to go outside again. Beck keeps focusing on his work. He really needed to catch up on his shifts. He was still behind.

"Hey Beck, I'm gonna go out and see if I can get a job at the Club or something. You know, to keep me busy."

Beck pauses and nods slowly before going back to fixing the bike. "Okay, just be careful, honey."

Ally grins. "Of course! When am I not careful, darling?" She turns and literally skips out of the garage. Ally rezzed her bike and drove off to the club to find a way to keep her busy.

On the way, she decided to check out Argon Square to see what was going on. She momentarily gets lost in her thoughts about how strange things have been lately. She sees Zoe for the first time in many cycles. She unexpectedly bumps into Beck in Argon City. And it seems that every program around her is itching for rebellion and eventually…freedom. She's come a long way from that shy, sweet, innocent program that she used to be back before the ISO War.

Ally comes back to reality and slams on her brakes and turns her bike off the road to avoid hitting a light trail of another bike that swerved directly in front of her. She looks at the bike that made the aggressive move and glares at the rider as he keeps going down the road.

"What's wrong with you, man?!" She shouts at the program who wouldn't hear her. "You could've **killed** somebody, not just me either!" She derezzed her bike back into a baton and walked toward the train station. "Stupid head!" She mumbled under her breath.

She walked through the narrow street that also led to Argon Square. It wasn't exactly a shortcut, but all in all, it does lead to the square. And she didn't feel like taking her chances on the road with that reckless driver. As Ally walked down the road, she twirled her lightcycle baton in her fingers. "What was that program thinking?" Ally asked herself. "He's a worse driver than the Renegade!"

The lights in the alleyway started flickering a little. Ally stopped dead in her tracks and clipped her lightcycle to her hip. There was no use for it at the moment. She narrowed her eyes and looked around carefully. Something was obviously wrong.

She turned around abruptly, but saw nothing. Ally felt her code inside of her shake. Every sense she had screamed danger. She quickly grabbed her disk and spun around yet again to see nothing. Ally furrowed her eyebrows and lowered her disk in confusion. She felt a sense of dread inside of her. A sense that didn't feel good.

She frowned and reconnected her disk. Then she turned on her heels and continued her walk to the club.

When she exited the alley, she grabbed her baton and rezzed her bike again, hoping that she wouldn't run into trouble. Truthfully, she wasn't very skilled on a lightbike. If she ever ran into trouble, she'd consider fighting her obstacle hand to hand.

As she drove off, she just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something bad going on. But every time she looked around, she didn't see anything or anyone that could possibly be a problem.

_Maybe I'm just being paranoid…_ Ally thought. But she wasn't entirely convincing herself. She's never been paranoid; she's always been right about something.

A realization hit her. Ally gasped, not believing how she didn't think of it sooner. That bad feeling in the pit of her stomach isn't usually something she felt when she was being followed around.

True, she noticed some shadows in the alleyways, but she never had that feeling of dread. There was another time when she felt that sensation though. She got that feeling of dread whenever an ISO was killed…

Ally exited the tunnel and stopped her bike, turning it back into a baton. She was in Argon Square. Surprisingly, there weren't a lot of programs around here right now. "What's going on…?" Ally whispered to herself, feeling twisted inside from worry. She hoped that everything was okay.

The place was nearly empty. Ally looked at the screen and narrowed her eyes. _Oh, that's why…_ The graffiti, revolution symbols and slogans were all gone. In their place were yellow colored screens that said: 'Perfection is Freedom' and 'Long Live Clu'.

She clenched her fists. The sight of the screens sickened her and she couldn't express how annoyed she was. Ally stared at the screens long and hard, internally fighting herself whether she should do something about it or not.

She eventually turned and kept walking until she got to the club. She felt terrible for not doing anything, but if she did, she would've likely been caught. And that wouldn't help her egos at all.

She entered the club and looked for the boss. "Can I help you?" A voice asked kindly behind her. Ally whirled around to face a program who she assumed was in charge.

"Uh, yes actually." Ally smiled sweetly. "I don't suppose I could get a job here?"

…

Sky's POV

"So what do we do now, Sir?" Sky asks Clu. He knew that it was my top priority to hunt down Alpha, but the problem is that they lost track of her. It's like she totally vanished.

Clu turned to Sky, then he glanced at Dyson. He didn't have the amused, calm expression anymore. He looked very upset. "Why are you asking me? You're the one who lost her in the first place." He says bluntly to Sky. "And you," He turns to Dyson. "You got involved with something that wasn't part of your duty, distracting Lieutenant Skipper."

Dyson keeps his eyes steady on the floor. "Yes sir, I understand, sir."

Clu eyes me and focuses back on Dyson. "Really? Are you sure?" He asks. Dyson wasn't sure how to answer. Clu glares at his right-hand man and punches him in the gut. Dyson doubles over in pain. Clu literally kicks him across the room, sending him flying straight into the wall and crumpling to the floor.

Sky flinches from what he sees. He never noticed this dark side to Clu before. He was usually so calm and mellow. And honestly, Clu was absolutely terrifying Sky. He's never seen Clu like this before.

"I can't believe that you stooped down so low to deal with something that was none of your business!" Clu shouted, striding over to Dyson to strike again.

Sky didn't like Dyson fondly. In fact, he hated him; but watching what was happening was making him feel rather uncomfortable. Nonetheless, he stood by and just watched with a blank expression, hiding his emotions.

When it was finally over, Dyson was unconscious and Clu turned to Sky. "You're dismissed." He said bluntly. "Just…do whatever you have to do to get me Alpha." He sounded like he was struggling just to stay calm.

Sky bowed respectfully before quickly leaving the room. He walked down the maze of hallways before stopping at his bedroom door. It was the start of a new cycle and he had no rest.

But he wasn't coming here to rest. The doors opened up and welcomed him inside. As he marched across the small, almost cramped area, he couldn't help but eye the bed in temptation. He shook his head to get back on topic.

He opened up a drawer and pulled out a small device. It had had an odd shape to it, and had several buttons on it. Sky put it in his pocket and closed the drawer. Now, all he had to do was find a way to flush Alpha out, which will hopefully be easy enough. Hopefully…

Sky's mind started wandering and he couldn't get Clu's violent acts out of his head. He thought about what Alpha told him in the past about Clu. All the bad acts he committed. Sky frowned. _Alpha was right about some of them. Clu isn't really who I thought he was._ He shook his head. "No, Clu is the good guy in this conflict. Perfection is Freedom. Perfection is Freedom. Perfection is Freedom."

He kept repeating the phrase, but each time, seemed less and less convinced. Sky sighed and left his room. He needed to think. Just for a little bit. He grabbed his baton off the top of the dresser and turned to leave the room.

He exited the base and made his way to the club. Having a shot of energy was proven to be very helpful when a program was thinking hard.

When he got to his destination point, he walked right inside to find a place to sit. He'd already changed into his citizen disguise so he'd blend in with the public a little better.

As he walked around, he bumped into a girl who clearly wasn't paying attention to where she was going. "Sorry," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes. He saw something about her that caught his eyes and he quickly grabbed her wrist.

She froze in surprise and locked eyes with him this time. She didn't really look well. Her face was very pale and seemed to have been drained of all color. He saw a flicker of recognition in her dark blue eyes before she quickly hid it from him.

Sky glanced at her arm that he gripped tightly and noticed the faded circuits on them. He narrowed his eyes. He could be mistaken, but he thought he saw neon green. It was just hard to tell because they were so dull, barely there.

He looked back at her face and noted her frightened and confused look. "Um, is something wrong?" She asked, trying to pull her arm away.

He played an 'embarrassed' look on his face and rubbed the back of his neck, letting go of her. "Oh, uh…sorry about that." He said casually, adding a nervous chuckle. "I thought you were someone else."

She stared right into his eyes for a few nanos, viewing him. She eventually looked away and continued walking out of the club. "Uh, it's okay." She replied shakily. "Sometimes programs make mistakes." She added more coolly.

Sky watched her carefully as she walks out of the club. He shook his head. _She's just an ordinary citizen. I'm probably just feeling the effects from lacking energy._

He sits down at the bar and orders a drink. He takes slow, calm sips while he ponders over the recent events between Dyson and Clu. Honestly, he didn't see that coming from a program like Clu.

What surprised him even more about that shocking event was how Clu didn't hesitate to attack his highest ranking soldier. His own right hand man!

While sitting at the bar, Sky couldn't help but overhear another conversation between two programs.

"Geez, when will it be enough for Clu?! What does he think he'll accomplish from dominating the entire Grid?" A program asks another.

His friend shrugs. "Obviously, his delusional quest for perfection."

The first program stifles an obnoxious laugh. "Since when is misery and dictatorship considered to be perfection?" He asks.

The second program leans against the bar counter. "Don't know, probably since Clu became a crazy, corrupted program."

"Pfft! Yeah, probably." The first guy said. "I just wish that Flynn and Tron would've seen it coming. Maybe then we truly would've been free and happy."

The second program smiles faintly. "Hey, at least we have the Renegade. There's a rumor going around that he really is Tron." The second program said.

The first one nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and to top it off, Alpha's fighting too."

The second program scratched his head. "Isn't she a perfectionist like Clu? You'd think she'd be fighting alongside that kook."

The first program shrugged. "Well, I think she realizes that there's no such thing as perfection and she's trying to make an example of it by comparing her beliefs to Clu, showing that perfection is different in everyone's perspective."

The second program took a moment to consider it. "Honestly, I'd be willing to join them in the fight for freedom. I truly believe that Clu needs to be taken down and relieved of duty and life."

Sky frowned while listening. It's truly shocking to hear a citizen's true thoughts about what's going on. It seems as though the only support Clu gets is from his repurposed soldiers, the rest of the living programs think negatively about him.

Truthfully, Sky didn't know if Dyson was repurposed or a program that joined him willingly. Sky was the latter. Somehow, Clu's inspirational words spoken to him in a way that didn't reach all programs. He truly believed in Clu's cause.

But now, after seeing Clu's true attitude and colors, hearing other program's thoughts about what's going on, Sky's really beginning to rethink his thoughts and duty.

But there were some problems. Clu valued Sky for his knowledge of Specials and his capability of hunting them down and apprehending them. If he quit, Clu would surely have him found and brought back for repurposing, or order his soldiers to derez him on sight.

Now thinking about the consequences showed even more depth to Clu's strict rules and expectations. He didn't like this at all.

He stood up and walked out of the club, no longer listening to the two programs that were talking. He needed some peace and quiet to carefully think this over and weigh his options. If he did consider leaving, he had to consider the scenarios of what could happen to him afterwards.

And most of them were not pleasant to think about.

…

Evelyn's POV

Evelyn sat at a desk in the archives room, once again, sorting through the files that kept getting scrambled up by the messengers that were constantly taking them out and putting them back in the wrong place. It wasn't entirely annoying, at least she had something to keep her busy.

She paused and rubbed her tired eyes with her forefinger and thumb. She sighed. "I didn't realize Alpha would just give herself up to the Occupation like that." She mumbled. "If she manages to get out, I'm gonna make sure to talk to her about the worry she's causing me. Not to mention asking of me to take care of a stranger that I don't even know."

She looked up at the sound of soft footprints coming closer. The program lightly knocked on the door before entering. It was Cassie. She looked worried.

Evelyn stood up. "Are you alright?" She asked cautiously.

Cassie shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "No…"

Evelyn quickly walks over. "What happened?"

Cassie gritted her teeth. "Katie's cover was somehow blown. Clu discovered that she was an ISO. She was derezzed on the spot!"

Evelyn's face pales. "Oh no…"

Cassie starts crying. "I saw the whole thing, but didn't do anything about it. I should've done something that could have changed her fate!"

Evelyn shook her head and gripped Cassie's shoulder. "No, no. I'm sure Katie would've preferred if no one else was caught or found. Trying to help her the way you wanted to would've been far too risky and could compromise the whole operation."

Cassie stops crying and sniffles. Evelyn looked at Cassie sympathetically. "I know you and Katie were best friends, but she had an undying commitment that needs to be carried on by those closest to her."

Cassie looked at Evelyn, who smiled lightly. "You can carry it on for her." Evelyn's soft expression turns hard and she looks away. "Because sooner or later, justice will be served to Clu for all that he's done to everyone."

Cassie looks down at the floor. "Right."

Right then, Chad walks into the room and immediately stops from the sight of them. "Sorry," he apologizes, backing up. "I should come back later."

Evelyn stops him. "No, it's okay." Chad turns around and strides over to the two ISOs. Evelyn puts her hand on Cassie's shoulder again. "This is Cassie, she's one the messengers here."

Cassie smiles lightly at Chad and shakes his hand. "Hello, Cassie." He greets.

Evelyn looked at Chad carefully. "So, you got to know a little about me last cycle, could you tell me a little about yourself? I already know that you're a…friend of Alpha."

Cassie looked at Chad in surprise. "How is Alpha doing?"

Chad sighed. "Last time I saw her, she sacrificed herself to make sure I got out okay. I'm pretty sure Clu has her now."

Cassie smiled confidently. "Don't worry, Alpha always makes it out of situations okay. Even in circumstances like that, I know she can handle herself on her own. After all, she managed to pull it off before, right Evelyn?"

Evelyn nodded slowly. "Yes, she has; but just because she's managed it single-handedly before, doesn't mean she could pull it off again. Remember, Clu is a very flexible program who always learns from his mistakes."

"There are some mistakes he'll never learn from though." Cassie mutters bitterly. Evelyn gives her a look that tells her to say no more, but she doesn't pay any attention. "I mean, he didn't learn from the ISO War. Now look at us! Look at how we're living!" Cassie shouts.

Evelyn facepalms, not happy that Cassie dropped hints on Chat that they were ISOs. He probably figured it out by now.

Chad nodded casually as if he was completely oblivious to what Cassie had said. "Yeah, I know. Clu uprooted a lot of innocent lives. I'm fighting against him so things can go back to normal, or as relatively close to normal as possible; the way things used to be."

Cassie's face softens. "Agreed…" She leans back, staring at the ceiling. "So, Evelyn,"

"Hmm?" The Librarian softly hums in response when she gets back to reorganizing the files.

Cassie grins. "You know where Valor is?"

Evelyn rolls her eyes. "I think he's in the main hall." She answers.

Cassie then stands up and skips out of the room. "See ya later!" She calls out the two programs in the room.

Evelyn sighs. "I think she and Valor have secretly been together."

Chad blinks at her in surprise. "What?"

Evelyn turned to face him. "Valor was the program you spoke with when you were looking for me."

Chad nodded slowly. "Oh," There was an awkward silence between them before Chad broke the silence again. "So…do you have a love interest?"

Evelyn visibly tenses up and turns back to her work. "No, I've never experience such distractions." Her hard expression gradually softens. "I just…never found the right one for me."

Chad smiles at her. "Ah, don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll find someone who'd accept you for who you are."

Evelyn smirked and whirled around quickly. "HA!" She laughs at his assumption like it was the funniest joke she'd ever heard. She definitely considered it as one. "As if anyone with their head screwed on straight would ever be interested in a girl like me!"

Chad shrugs and walks to a wall, examining the archives cluttered on the shelves. "You never know…there's always a perfect match for everyone on the Grid."

Evelyn's shoulders slump. "Some may not have a match at all."

Chad pauses and takes out an archive that was misplaced and put it where it belonged on the shelves. "That's not entirely true. Everyone has a chance to find someone that would care for them and accept them for who or what they were."

Evelyn remains silent to his response. He was starting to make her feel conflicted. "Excuse me." She says, turning and leaving the room to think.

Evelyn shook her head consistently as she walked up and down the hallways. Ever since Chad arrived, things were starting to get a little out of whack. Not to mention that Alpha's supposedly in trouble.

AND…the fact that yet another ISO died.

She needed to talk to Alpha as soon as possible about all this and to get this basic program out of her life. She really didn't like the minor, unreasonable arguments that she'd been having with him lately.

"Hopefully, this won't last long. And it'll all be over." She assured herself before turning and going back into the library and return to her 'duty'.

…

Beck's POV

Beck pushed the component back into place before sighing with a smile. He was done. His pride was short-lived, as he felt an unpleasant feeling wash over his whole body.

He hated that feeling. It happened to him a lot during the ISO War. It rarely ever happened now. It felt like a bad sense of dread that not mentally but physically made him not feel good.

Able passed by and looked at Beck with concern. "Are you alright, Beck? You don't seem well."

Beck waved off his worries. "Nah, it's nothing. Everything's fine." He smiled at his boss for assurance that didn't quite work.

Nonetheless, Able shrugged and kept walking, glancing at Beck one last time before disappearing from sight. Beck shakes his head a little bit to clear away the fuzziness that set in when he felt the sense of dread.

He turned and saw Ally walking his way, not looking so good either. Yet she plastered a pleasant smile on her face and waved to Beck. "Hi Beck," Her smile faded a bit when she got closer. "You alright?" She asked, looking more scared and shocked than concerned.

Beck folded his arms and frowned. "I was going to ask you the same thing. You've lost all color and look like you're dead." Ally grabbed Beck's upper arm and pulled him with her to an empty room. She shut the door behind her and turned to Beck.

"I'm serious, Beck." She said in an almost sinister tone. "If you felt an unpleasant feeling in your gut less than a cycle ago, you need to tell me."

Beck frowns. "Why?"

Ally pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Just trust my word, Beck. I don't want Clu coming after you just because of what you are."

Beck tensed up. _Does she know that I'm the Renegade or something?..._ He looked Ally in the eye. "How exactly is this important?" He asks.

Ally sat down and avoided eye-contact with Beck for a while. "It's a very long, complicated story. A history lesson that I don't have time to explain." She merely said.

Beck sat down and slowly nodded. "Yes, I felt shivers and discomfort run through my code earlier this cycle."

"Did it happen often during the ISO War?" Ally asked.

Beck was taken aback. "Uh, yes; actually it did."

She nodded and looked at Beck in the eyes. "Would you let me open up your main, soul coding to confirm my theory?"

Beck shifted uncomfortably. "You've been acting different lately."

Ally faintly smirks and looks away from Beck again. "So have you…" There were a few nanos of silence before she continued. "It seems as though we've both been keeping deep, dark secrets from each other."

Beck tensed up. Ally was speaking as if she was completely aware of all the secrets he's been keeping for so long. "Yeah," he agreed.

"'Yeah' what?" She gently asks.

Beck sighs. "I agree, we've been keeping some secrets from each other and we shouldn't do that as much as we already do." He slowly draws his disk and handed it to her. "You can also take a look at it."

Ally slowly reached out, but took her time to take it, giving Beck the chance to change his mind, which he didn't do. But he was really nervous to have Ally look into his disk like that after a fruitless conversation.

At the moment, there was something unsettling about Ally that set Beck on edge as she looked at his code. She looked to be serious, but scared and panicked at the same time. He heard her mumble something under her breath. "I hope I'm wrong…I hope I'm wrong…" He thought he heard her say.

After spending a few micros looking through his coding, she pressed something and an unfamiliar image on Beck's disk was displayed. Beck scooted closer to Ally on the bench to get a better look.

Ally's eyes widened in shock. "No…" She whispered, staring at the image with an expression that Beck guessed related to hopelessness.

Beck narrowed his eyes at the image which he's never seen before. It looked like a double helix, but not quite. Of course, a double helix was like a twisted ladder, like two poles with rungs. But this was something like three poles with rungs going every which way and direction, twisted up in a…triple helix?

**(A/N: I'm gonna just call Special DNA a triple helix or something like that)**

Beck quickly turned to Ally. "This is my main coding?!" He asks.

Ally's shoulders sag forward and she closes up his disk, handing it back to him. Beck looked at his disk as if he didn't trust it before he finally accepted that he had to dock it or he'd lose his memories again.

The couple remained silent for a while…until Beck broke the silence with a question. "Um, what exactly is the problem?" He carefully asks.

Ally's lower lip trembles a little bit and she closes her eyes tightly. "It's what you are that's the issue." She says. Beck was taken aback by her answer. Ally looks at Beck with a calculated expression. "Clu can't know." She says.

Beck narrowed his eyes. "Can't know about what?" He asks, unsure of what she's talking about. Ally's face turns blank, still pale from the unpleasant experience this cycle. Beck had a feeling he looked the same too.

"You…don't know?" She asks, looking like she can't believe her ears. Beck slowly shook his head. Ally sighed and looked away. "It's a very long story. And involves some deep history to Alpha's part in the ISO War."

Beck got comfortable on the bench. "Well, I've got time. I'm done with my shift and I'm not currently busy with anything."

Ally smiled a little bit from Beck's eagerness to hear. "Okay, but it's not a pleasant story to tell. Many programs that were close to me either died or disappeared."

Beck's face softens in sympathy. Ally straitens up and beams at him. "But let's not live in the past! May Flynn watch over them and keep them safe. I don't really know where they are, but I hope they're okay." She sat closer to Beck and cleared her throat. "This is just gonna be a history lesson from the Specials' point of view."

Beck looked puzzled. "Specials?..."

Ally slowly exhaled through her nose. "I'll start explaining from there. Let's go to the beginning of this little story. The **very** beginning…"

…

Ally's POV

Beck didn't seem to know anything about this history. Ally wondered if Zed or Mara knew. _What about Able?_ She wondered.

Beck seemed to be thinking very hard about what she told him. "So…Specials are a whole new species. Different from ISOs, Basics, and Users but somewhat a combination of them all?" He clarified.

Ally nodded patiently. "Both you and me are Specials; and if we're not careful, and our cover is blown, Clu will be sure to send out soldiers for us." Ally made Beck think Clu was looking for her only because of what she was. She hadn't yet told him about the double life she was currently living.

"So, how do you know all of this? It's so vivid, as if you really were in the action." Beck raised a quizzical eyebrow.

Ally sighed and avoided eye-contact. "That's because I was involved. I was on the front lines." Beck's jaw dropped. "I fought for the ISOs as best as I could, but Clu was well prepared for a fight. The rest of us were caught off guard. In fact, he almost caught me once or twice. At least they never managed to identify me when they did though, otherwise, I would've been locked away for all eternity."

Ally paused. "…I was eventually forced to flee, run away from the fight. No one stood a chance. I went into hiding in Neon and tried to live normal, but…there were some issues with that." She looks up at Beck and smiles. "Then you found me."

Beck smiled back, but shuddered inside from the disturbing history lesson that Ally gave him. It was terrible and horrifying to hear the exact details of what happened.

All in all though, Beck was a little relieved to know that the simple mystery of what he was and how he was made was fascinating and good to know.

"You don't even need to be a masked, vigilante to be pursued by Clu if you're a Special. He wants as many as possible on his side. Any of them who aren't with him are a serious threat." Ally said.

Beck tensed up. Ally could tell that Beck was thinking hard, so she decided to put it at rest for now. "So, I got a job at the Club this cycle." Ally cheerfully informed Beck, smiling like they never discussed any serious or dark conversations.

Beck was caught off-guard by her sudden surprising actions but eventually understood why she was doing that. She was done talking about it and was jumping back to the present.

Beck smiled warmly back at her, standing up and walking to the door with her. "Oh really? Are you excited?" He asked casually as they stepped out of the room.

Ally faced forward and did a double take when she realized just who else was in the garage. She and Beck found themselves face to face with one of the last programs they would want to see. Sky was in his citizen uniform and was standing directly in front of them.

Ally almost screamed from the shock but forced it back down. She didn't know yet why Sky was here, but she hoped that he wasn't suspicious of her. If he was, then it meant he'd followed her back here all the way from the club, which was a little creepy.

Sky smiled pleasantly at the couple. Ally smiled back, fighting back the urge to attack him. That would definitely blow her cover. She just decided to stand and wait, find out why he's here. Who knows? Maybe he's just here under unimportant circumstances of a sort that don't involve her…or Beck.

Hopefully…

"Greetings, Programs." He said casually.

Beck, oblivious to who this program was, politely responded. "Hello, how may I help you?"

Sky's smile grew a little bigger.

"…I'd like to get my bike looked at, please."

* * *

**There you have it, Sky's not really repurposed and for the first time, Clu scares the living daylights out of him. :O**

**Sky: I wasn't scared! :(  
I...was just surprised.**

**Me: Yeah, sure. Keep telling yourself that. :P**

**Ally: He thinks he's got problems? He needs to get ahold of reality! Others are suffering!**

**Evelyn: Meh meh meh, :P  
No one has to worry about the ISOs. We're having a tough time, but we don't need help. We're self-sufficient.**

**Chad: Not everyone on the Grid is like that though.**

**Evelyn: DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! +_+**

**Me: Okay, everyone calm down. We don't need to have conflict.**

**Ally: :P  
Well it's all your fault.**

**Me: MINE? Excuse me, but it's called making things interesting.**

**Everyone except me: O_O  
Get her!**

**Me: *Runs away* I'm sorry, please review and leave a comment. I'll start working on the next chapter as soon as possible. TRON LIVES! Toodles.**


	12. Surprise, then Departure

**Greetings, Programs! :D  
Hey, hey, hey; look at this! I actually managed to update this chapter on time! Isn't that swell? ;)  
Anyway, hope you enjoy this one. Some things will take a turn. Nothing major, just slowly moving things along, bit by bit.  
Also, I've been checking out new fan fictions and favorited all the ones I personally liked. The authors of the incredible stories are: 2theSky, QuilSniv, Come to the Well, Unbroken under the sky, FireLily1100 (with her co-author), and so many more! I personally believe that these people are one of 's most gifted authors. (Especially the Tron Fan fiction books)  
Now, without further a-due, please enjoy this chapter. ;D**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Surprise, then Departure**

Ally's POV

Ally blinked. This wasn't what she expected to hear from Sky. She thought he'd question them or make an accusation. This…caught her off guard.

Beck, kind as he was, took some of his free time to work on the bike. Sky sat next to Ally and remained uncomfortably silent. He looked troubled, too.

Ally took a deep breath before turning to him with a small smile. "So," She started. "What brings you here? You're bike get damaged in a fight or race or something?" Ally pressed harder. "Maybe a pursuit?"

Sky shrugged. "No, not really; I'm not a troublemaker. I just need some touch ups. You know, better brakes, maybe an upgrade on the speed. And I need it to have the capabilities to handle rough terrain."

Ally locks eyes with her archenemy, unblinking. "Did something happen?" She asks.

Sky quickly looks away. "I um, got a job offer in Gallium and I'm moving there to…live a better life." He says quickly.

Ally's eye twitched. She thought he was trying to avoid her question. She wondered why he wanted upgrades for speed and managing rough terrain. _Is he chasing after someone?_ She wondered.

Beck closed up the bike into a baton and handed it to Sky. "Well, here you go." He said.

Sky smiled and nodded. "Thank you." He said politely before turning and leaving the Garage.

Ally waved to him. "Have a safe trip!" She said, forcefully smiling at his back. When he was gone, her smile turned more…real and she rested her head on Beck's chest. She looked up at him and smirked. "Come on!" She said, pulling on his hand and leading him outside. "Let's have some fun before curfew!"

Beck looked hesitant and seemed a bit different since their serious conversation. Ally noticed this and stopped smiling. "Beck," She said, her eyes boring holes into him. "You need to hang loose and act casual around everyone, or they will notice the difference between you and others."

Beck slowly nodded and followed her. "So, where are you taking me?" Beck asked Ally, smiling at her with his brown eyes, begging her to tell him.

Ally smirked. "It's a surprise."

After spending about five or six microcycles of walking down alleyways and streets that didn't give Beck a clue of their destination, Ally covered his eyes. "No peeking now." She ordered.

Beck sighed. "Come on, Ally. What's the surprise?" Beck asked.

Ally giggles. "Don't worry, you'll find out." After another ten micros, they stopped walking. "Ready?" Ally asks.

Beck chuckles. "Yes, I'm ready! What's the surprise?"

"This!" Ally says, removing her hands from Beck's face and giving him a shove hard enough to send him plunging into the Sea of Simulation.

Beck surfaces in the water, he looks up and glares at Ally, who was laughing hysterically at the sight before her. "That's for what you did earlier this cycle!" She says to Beck.

Beck eventually lightens up and laughs with her, knowing that she's put the seriousness behind her…for now. "You know what, Ally? It is kind of funny." He said, swimming over to the edge from which she perched.

"Oh, really?" She asks, grinning at him.

Beck nods. "Yes, it really is funny. But I know something that's even funnier."

"And what's that?"

Beck raises his index finger between them and beckons her to come closer to him. Ally leans closer to him and smiles beautifully. "What is it?" She asks.

Beck wraps his arms around her neck and kisses her full on the mouth, which catches her off guard. Then pulls her right into the sea with him.

Her head appears above the water's surface and narrows her eyes at Beck, who was now the one laughing hysterically. "I wouldn't say that was funny, Beck!" She said.

She splashed him with water. "I was only getting even with you, you know."

Beck smiled. "I know, I pulled you in because I wanted to have fun…and, of course, see your reaction." He admitted.

Ally put on her mask and disappeared into the water's depths with a smirk. She swam circles around Beck and kept poking him in his sides and shoulders. Eventually, he'd had enough and put on his mask, joining her underwater.

That's when Ally started to swim away, laughing. Beck followed and caught up with her. Then they had a friendly and pointless wrestling match in the water which no one won. Eventually, they had to resurface by the docks and that was when a program with a flashlight spotted them.

"Hold it right there, Programs!" The couple froze and stared up at the soldier that caught them red-handed. Luckily, they both had their masks on, so they couldn't be identified.

"Swim away!" Ally shouted. "Swim away!" The two ducked underwater again and swam as fast as they could from the guard. They resurfaced at another dock, far away from the other one. "I think we lost him." Ally said, giggling a bit.

Beck started laughing from the panic that they both had for getting caught. "That was a close one!" He said.

Ally kept smiling and laughing as she hauled her body out of the water and helped Beck out too. "No, it really wasn't close. I've been through much stickier situations…" She trailed off, thinking back to her past.

Beck nudged Ally. "Come on, we have to get home, fast!"

Ally grinned, returning to the present time. "I'll race you!"

Beck smiles. "You're on!"

"Okay. Ready…set-go!" She started running.

Beck pouted as he followed. "Hey! You had a head-start!"

Ally smirked. "No I didn't." She called out behind her shoulder.

…

Chad's POV

He was warmly welcomed by The Messengers and Evelyn herself, but he could also feel some tension between him and her. Maybe she wasn't used to being around someone new for a long period of time.

But the other programs that lived here were swell and greeted him as if they'd been friends since their creation. Although, Chad knew that this was only temporary and he'd eventually have to leave when things were cleared up. He couldn't stay forever.

In fact, he wasn't quite sure that **everyone** liked him. "No worries," Cassie assured Chad. "Evelyn's never been responsible for an outsider, that's all." Cassie grinned. "This is her first time, and she told me that she thinks she's doing something wrong." She giggled uncontrollably. "You don't really have much to worry about."

Chad smiled. "Thanks for the reassurance. I was beginning to think she didn't like me much."

Cassie tensed up.

"Well," She started. "Evelyn is a rather…complicated program. She's been through much and has become really…" She searched for the right word. "Unpredictable." She cringed at the word, as if it wasn't the right one to use.

She locked eyes with Chad and bit her lip, glancing occasionally to see if anyone was watching. "Listen, I'm going to tell you something about her that not many programs know of. The only outsiders that know are Alpha, The Renegade, and…**him**."

Chad leaned forward. "What is it?"

Cassie kept looking around nervously. Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him into an empty room. "Okay, I know that you just got here and all, but I sense that you have feelings for Evelyn."

Chad reacted quickly and shook his head. "What?! No! I just got here; there's no way that I'd feel such emotions for any program! I only think of us as…uneasy friends."

Cassie nodded. "Okay, okay; you proved your point. What I meant is, don't get too close with Evelyn. Or she may end up attacking someone."

Chad's head was spinning. "What are you talking about?"

Cassie sighed. "Evelyn's loved an outsider before." Chad straightened up when he heard this. "He was a good program too. Always kind and loving, and always protected her." She paused. "But that all changed too quickly."

"What do you mean?"

Cassie didn't meet Chad's eyes. "One cycle, he just…disappeared without a trace. No one found him and couldn't figure out what happened. Evelyn despaired."

Chad frowned, understanding that Evelyn had been through much pain and loss.

Cassie continued. "But then, without warning, he came back again. But something was wrong. He wasn't the same anymore. He was barely recognizable, his face covered in light lines. And his attitude…" Cassie trailed off.

Chad slowly nodded. "The guy hurt her, didn't he?"

Cassie looked up at Chad with a saddened expression. "Worse than you could ever imagine. Evelyn eventually broke up with him when he derezzed a program. He's still out there, terrorizing innocent programs. It hurts Evelyn every time she's reminded of him."

Chad closed his eyes, thinking hard of all the sudden input of information. "I…didn't know. Evelyn must've been in so much pain."

Cassie looked at Chad with piercing eyes. "If your feelings for her grow stronger, you'd better watch your step." She warned him. "Because if you hurt her, I won't be the only one to go after you."

Chad tensed up from the threat. Cassie's menacing expression then turned bright and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Don't be so stiff! Everyone here likes having you around; don't get me wrong. It's nice to meet someone new every once in a while; in fact, it's good for programs."

Chad nodded again. "O-okay."

Cassie smiled. "Just remember to be careful around Evelyn. She can sometimes be a little mean and unpleasant around new guys."

Chad sighed. "Yeah, I've noticed." He muttered.

Cassie laughed and punched his shoulder again. "Be nice! I only told you this stuff because you deserved to know the truth, and you needed to know the boundaries and what to watch out for." Cassie eyes him. "Be careful…you have been warned…"

Chad turned for the door. "Don't worry about me, I won't cause any trouble. I promise." He left Cassie alone in the room. When he was far enough away, he shook his head and got rid of the jitters that Cassie gave him.

She was usually nice, but this cycle, she totally freaked him out. AND she assumed that he 'liked' Evelyn. Honestly, Chad did his best to be nice and polite around her because of her obvious short temper.

To be truthful, Evelyn was kind of creepy…in a form or way.

Just then, Chad bumps right into her, startling them both. Evelyn let out a startled sound; archives and files she was carrying flew everywhere and activated all at once, some of them video messages. And it was all chaos.

Chad jumped away from her defensively until he realized it was just her and she wasn't going to hurt him…yet. She was busy picking up the items she dropped.

Not knowing what else to do, Chad stooped down and helped her pick up the stuff. "I've got it!" Evelyn snapped, standing up and taking all the stuff in her arms again and walking away from him, back to the library.

Chad frowned and strode back to his room, understanding that she didn't want his company. It was clear that there was nothing between them, especially on Evelyn's side.

Chad was more confused. His previous love interest was Alpha, but it was clear that she wasn't into him. And after that kiss, Chad wasn't so sure about his feelings for her.

There were a lot of things going on that he wasn't entirely sure about. There were confusing people that he met and events that made him question things that he'd never wondered about before.

Such as, what Cassie said earlier…

"'_Clu didn't learn from his mistakes in the ISO War. Now look at us! Look at how we're living!'"_

Chad frowned. _Why did she refer back to the ISO War like that? And why did she compare her living conditions to the ISOs?_ Thinking about it made him a little suspicious. He began to think and wonder if the ISOs really were dead like Clu said. "Or are they still out there somewhere?" Chad asked himself, narrowing his eyes.

…

Sky's POV

He made his decision. He'd leave Argon and abandon his duty of working for Clu. He was well aware of the consequences and preferred to deal with them instead of serving another cycle working for that cruel tyrant.

Although when he prepared to leave, he noticed that he couldn't take the roads to another City. He'd risk being seen and recognized while doing that. He'd have to go through the rough terrain of the Outlands, staying away from the roads and public eyes.

He already had a plan of where to go. He'd heard that Gallium was more remote than Argon City. He knew for sure that Clu hadn't yet taken control of the City; it was one of the last free Cities on the Grid. Plus, there were rumors going around that a lot of refugees tended to find safety there and could easily start over.

However, the nano that Clu realized that Sky had quit and ran away, would be the moment when he could no longer turn back. Before he turned to leave, he hesitated, considering not to leave, but he shook his head and knew it was best to go.

Alpha and the other rebels were right all along. Clu was evil and this whole time, Sky was fighting on the wrong side. He planned to set things right, but when the time came, he'd strike his personal blow against Clu, the first chance he got.

In time though, he knew that Clu would send out soldiers looking for him and realize that he ran away. So first, he'd have to go undercover and let all the chaos died down before he came back. By then, he'd be fully prepared to make a move.

He nodded and took one final glance around the room. "No going back…" He said to himself. Before he left the room though, he took out the small, buttoned device from his pocket and put it back into the dresser drawer. He wasn't going to bring any weaponry of the sort with him. Especially the kind like that.

Thinking about everything he'd done in the past made Sky cringe with guilt. All the Specials he captured for Clu, all the other enemy programs that he tracked down so they'd be dealt with.

And the guilt was nearly overwhelming.

Sky straightened up. He needed to set that right, and level out the playing field. If he was lucky, this new plan could serve as an excellent distraction while he escaped.

But there was no guarantee of anything now.

Sky turned and strode out of his room to the Control Center of the aerial base. It was empty. He quickly walked over to the different switches and buttons and started pressing and flipping some.

He kept his eyes steady on the security cameras to view of anyone nearby. It was all clear. Sky then pressed another series of buttons and deactivated several more switches.

He looked at the cameras that overlooked the prisoner bays and pressed a final button, deactivating all the cells. All the prisoners-basics and Specials-were free again. Before he turned away from the controls, he pulled out a syringe and injected it into the system to scramble the main coding.

He then turned on his heels and sprinted out of the room, outside, grabbed a wing chute, and high-tailed it off the base. That thing was going to crash within a few micros.

Of course, all the prisoners would leave the base without a moment's hesitation. I'd be Clu's soldiers and guards that would take the impact. It was unfortunate that Clu wasn't on the base. He preferred to stay on his throne ship, which usually was inside the base that once belonged to General Tesler or flying over the City for the breathtaking views.

Sky landed safely on the ground and rezzed his lightbike, not even bothering to take off the wing chute that he stole. He then pulled out his baton and rezzed his bike, heading straight for Gallium.

…The place in which was rumored to be completely independent from Clu's army.

Sky smiled. It would be a great place to hide for a while and plot how he should help fight against Clu.

His smile quickly dropped. He'd have no allies, no help; he'd be all alone. If he was very lucky, it would only be temporary. However, he couldn't get his hopes up.

In everyone's eyes, he's a traitor. In the rebels' perspectives, he's an imposter and spy who worked for Clu. And he was nothing more than a deserter and traitor who lost the idea and 'true' meaning of perfection.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice several orange bikes trailing far behind him in the Outlands…

* * *

**Me: Well, that should be interesting next chapter.**

**Sky: X( If I end up getting torn apart or do anything embarrassing, I'll be the last person you see!**

**Me: *Rolls eyes* You're nothing more than a made-up program in my wild imagination. I could make you disappear if I wanted to. So how could you even touch me?**

**Sky: Um...details aren't important of how I'd do it...**

**Ally: You lay one finger on her before me, I'll punch you in the face so hard, you're grandchildren will see stars!**

**Sky: But none of that's logically possible. We're computer programs, it's impossible to have grandkids. And I don't even know what stars look like because there are none on the Grid.**

**Ally: DETAILS AREN'T IMPORTANT! *_***

**Me: *Steps back* You've created a monster, Sky!**

**Ally: I'll pound you INTO THE SKY!**

**Me: *Smirks* They can't touch me!  
So, feel free to review, tell me what you think. It's okay if you criticize because (I don't think I told you guys this yet) I'm not using betas at all for any of my stories. I'm "going with the flow" and "making things up as I go". You know? (Pfft! Hey, I rhymed!) :D  
But anyway, eat your vegetables, exercise as much as possible, hang out with your friends, and live life to the fullest!  
And one more thing, thank you to all my reviewers for this story so far.**

**SuperSaiyan2Goku, mach5plus1, Lizzie5817, TheGunmaster, StarSpangled, Unbroken under the sky, TRON GIRL, Fett, Guest, Game of Boba, TheUprisingBegins6712, Come to the Well, 2theSky, and QuilSniv.**

**Thank you for your support and hopefully I'll update the next chapter on time as well.**

**TRON LIVES! Toodles. ;)**


	13. When will it End?

**Greetings Programs! Once again, I managed to update on time! Yay! Seriously though, it's a miracle for me. A lot's been happening around me, lately and it's been a bit difficult to get on the computer and type up another chapter. I managed though. :) So, please enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 13: When will it end...?**

Beck's POV

Despite Ally's minor head-start for their friendly race, Beck still managed to beat her. Now she was holding a grudge. "I can't believe I lost to you." She said, taking her satchel off and sitting on the bed. "I'm usually much better at races."

Beck smirks. "Or maybe I just got better than you." He said teasingly.

Ally jumped to her feet. "No way!" She protested. "I just hadn't practiced for a while! And believe me, I was a lot better before my accident!"

Beck grinned and rolled his eyes. "Right, I'm sure that's the case." He said in sarcasm.

Ally stuck out her tongue at him. "Don't forget, I used to be better at racing than you."

"Meaning that I could've just gotten better through practice." Beck says coolly with a sly grin.

Ally laid down on the bed with her arms crossed. "Whatever…" She mumbles. Beck put his arm around her waist, but she smacked it away. "I don't want to wake you up later." She said.

Beck frowns. "How would you wake me up?" He asked in curiosity.

Ally stares blankly at the ceiling. "I'm getting up early next cycle." She said. "I'm gonna practice running."

Beck chuckled. "If you ask me, I think you're taking this loss way too seriously."

Ally blinked. "No I'm not!"

Beck shook his head in disagreement and closed his eyes. "You're being too serious about this, Ally." He commented. "I know you well; not completely, but enough to know how much you like sleep. You'll be cranky next cycle if you don't get enough of it."

Ally sighed. "Quit worrying about me! If anything, you should be watching out for yourself, instead of putting yourself in the danger zone for others!"

"Ha!" Beck sat up and opened his eyes, looking directly at his girlfriend. "Look who's talking! You're always acting so concerned for me too! Is it because we're dating, because we're both part of a rare and wanted species, or is it something else?!"

Ally was stunned. She didn't expect Beck to act like that, let alone make an accusation of such. She sighed in defeat and rolled over, her back facing Beck. "Whatever," She simply said. "I still need to work out, I feel like I'm not quite fit and that won't help me if I'm running away from Clu all the time."

Beck narrowed his eyes. "What do you know about Clu?" He asked. "You seem to know a lot more than what you're telling me."

Ally closed her eyes. "Let's just go to sleep now, Beck."

Beck rolled his eyes and lay down, facing away from Ally. "Oh, sure; now you want to sleep."

"Shut up."

Beck sighed. Their first fight wasn't fun, and it was over a pointless race. But something told him that this had more depth to it than he'd originally thought. He shook his head. _No, Ally's always been very competitive. It's as simple as that. She's only making a big deal out of it._

Ally shifted next to him, getting comfortable. Beck frowned. However, he had to admit that he was concerned for her. She's sometimes pushing herself too hard to be a kind and pleasant person. It wasn't always natural around others.

_What could Ally be hiding?_ He wondered. _She obviously has a dark past from what she told me, but did she leave out any important details?_

All those thoughts were making his head spin. The Ally that he'd come to know and love so much was so different. It wasn't just the details from her past that she was keeping from him. _What happened to her after we were separated in Neon?!_

…

Tron's POV

He rubbed his sore eyes from staring at the large screen. A lot of things happened lately, and Tron could barely keep up with the details of it. He saw the movement of something from the corner of his eye. He looked at the window where the moving object was.

He zoomed in on Clu's Aerial base and stared at it in surprise as he watched it crash to the ground of the Outlands. He narrowed his eyes when he saw a small figure jump off of the ship before it impacted against the rough terrain, then rez a bike, driving away.

Tron saved and replayed the image, zooming in and studying it. It was a male program from the looks of it. And from what Tron guessed, he is probably the one responsible for the destruction of the base.

He sighed. It seemed that rebellious activity has been picking up lately. That was good. If Beck and Zoe could work together and rally the dedicated programs, they'd at least have a chance to free the Grid.

But they'd have to take small steps. They wouldn't be able to free the entire Grid within a cycle, not even within a HiloCycle. It could potentially take a few DecaCycles before the Grid is freed.

First, they'll free Argon City, then they'll split into several big groups and inspire other Cities to fight back, causing a chain reaction. If it's effective, most of the citizens in all the Cities will fight for freedom. And Clu would end up fighting against just about every living program on the Grid…minus his soldiers, of course.

But Tron knew Clu better than most programs. Clu wasn't stupid. He could easily figure out the plan and work out his own counterstrategy to work against the revolution. And Tron knew what Clu was possibly capable of. That program was very crafty.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft clacking of heels moving across the glossy floor. He turned to see Zoe rubbing her eyes to get rid of the sleepiness that still remained on her face.

"Uh, hi Tron." She said, sitting down on the stairs. "How's it going?"

He sighed, looking out the window again. "No sign of anyone" He answered bluntly. "Someone crashed that new base. Otherwise, there's nothing new." His expression softened at Zoe's depressed-looking face. "Don't worry, we'll find them." He assured.

Zoe sighed and hung her head. "It's not that…just don't trust Ace." She blurted out.

Tron quickly turned to face Zoe again. "Why?" He asked, his expression turning hard and quizzical. "What did he do?"

Zoe scowled at the floor. "He betrayed us, that's what he did! He joined Clu!"

Tron folded his arms. "Why are you telling me this now?" He asked. "I asked you about this earlier."

She sighed. "I-I don't know! It was just hard at first." She explained. "It's just…complicated."

Tron rolled his eyes. "Could you give me some details, please?" He asked.

Zoe's lower lip trembled. "He betrayed us and joined Clu's forces!" She shouted. "Isn't that enough?! What more do you want?!"

Tron raised a hand to calm her down. "Okay, I won't press too hard on you. It must've been brutal when you discovered the betrayal."

Zoe drew her knees up to her chest and laid her forearms over her legs. "Yeah…" She rested her head on her arms and sighed deeply, remembering what had happened.

**(Zoe's Flashback)**

Zoe moved fluidly through the large crowd, unnoticed by many. She wore a black cloak that went down to her mid-thighs. It was draped a bit loose over her shoulders and covered part of her chest. It still fit quite nice, though. She had the hood up, which casted a dark shadow over her face, masking it.

She turned her head when she head a scuffling noise. She saw a civilian pinned down by black guards with orange circuits. She took a step back at the sight, ready to turn and run if she was noticed again.

Last time that happened, she barely got away.

One of the black guards spoke. "Sir, this program tried to run."

A familiar-looking male program looked at the program and shook his head. "No, he's not one of them." The guards released the civilian, who hurried away in fright. "Keep moving," He said quietly. "We need to eliminate as many ISO escapees as possible."

The guards nodded and moved on. The leader of the squad turned and looked around, carefully searching the crowd of programs for any ISOs. His eyes settled on her. Zoe's breath quickened and she was ready to just bolt out of the crowded place and loose them in a series of alleyways.

She knew this program…

It was her former comrade, Ace.

He narrowed his eyes and stared straight at her. Zoe lowered her head further to make sure she wasn't exposing anything familiar to him. Who knows what would happen if she was recognized?

She could her energy circulating throughout her body from fright…

Eventually Ace sighed and shook his head like he thought he was only seeing things. He then turned and left.

On cue, Zoe turned and walked away in the opposite direction that Ace went in. She felt anger boil inside her. _That traitor!_ She thought to herself. _What in User's name would motivate him to do such a thing?!_

Zoe couldn't answer her own question, and she definitely wouldn't know now. She'd been so blind to see just what kind of program Ace really was!

No, she wasn't completely blind though. She saw Clu's treachery coming…

She once reported her concerns to Tron…

"_**Tron, um this may sound out of the blue, but have you noticed anything a bit…strange about Clu? He's a bit uneasy around the ISOs."**_

"_Don't worry about him. I have noticed his tense relationship with the ISOs. He's just not used to new things such as that species. If anything started getting out of hand, Flynn would notice and fix the problem before it gets serious…"_

After their conversation, Zoe went and saw Flynn right before she departed for her secret mission in Beryllium…

"_**Uh, Flynn? I'm just wondering…is Clu okay? I've seen how he's been around the ISOs. He's not acting natural."**_

"_Yes, Clu's just fine. You have nothing to worry about. He's only a little conflicted about the discovery of new species other than Basics and Users, that's all. He's also a bit stressed out, that's all. He'll get over it eventually without a problem. You'll see…"_

"_**Well…okay then. You know more about him than me, so who am I to judge? I'll take your word for it…"**_

Zoe sighed and shook her head. She wished that Flynn saw Clu's problems before they got too out of hand. Now everyone was going off the deep end.

Clu was already purging the ISOs, what was next?

"There's a Special!" Zoe's breath caught in her throat. "Get her!"

She immediately broke into a run to get away from the soldiers that discovered her.

**(End of Flashback!)**

Tron studied Zoe's face carefully. She was clearly in deep thought.

"He helped Clu purge the ISOs…" She whispered.

Tron was taken aback to what she said. "Are you absolutely sure about that?" He asked her with a hard expression.

Zoe nodded stiffly. "I saw it with my own two eyes." She looked away from Tron. "I-I need to take a walk…think about this and calm down."

Tron slowly nodded. He knew he couldn't keep her here, nor did he want a fuming Zoe in the hideout. He patted her shoulder. "Okay then, just be safe. I don't want you getting into too much trouble for you to handle."

She stood up and quickly exited the hideout, mumbling. "I won't…"

The moment the elevator doors closed behind her, Tron sighed and went back to his big computer screen. He felt the need to do some more research.

There was something that felt…off about all this. None of it added up for some reason. And he wanted to find out what the real problem was behind all of this.

…

Zoe's POV

She kept her head bowed as she walked throughout Argon City. Just for safety's sake, she wore her cloak with the hood up to hide her face and cover up some of her circuits.

As she pondered over previous events; the good times and the dramatic events, she kept her breathing steady so she wouldn't lose her temper. She clenched her fists. Everything seemed to be falling apart!

_Will things ever start to make sense again…?_

She stopped walking. _Maybe…things will start going uphill now, and get better…_ She focused on the ground. _Because things couldn't possibly get any worse right now._

At that moment, the lights on her street flickered and went out. She sighed. "I stand corrected…" she mumbled.

She heard footsteps behind her, but before she could turn around to try and see who it was, she was hit in the back of the head, hard. The whole Grid seemed to be tilting side to side and she lost her balance.

And everything went black…

Sky's POV

He arrived in Gallium, finally. It was kind of hard to slip past the securities and checkpoints, but he made it. Safe and sound…or so he thought.

At first when he entered the City, he never noticed the soldiers following him around. But when he finally saw them…they jumped him.

* * *

**Well, this concludes Chapter 13, everyone! Thank you all for the updates so far! Have a wonderful cycle! And...I hope to update on time once again next week! :D**

**TRON LIVES! Toodles.**


	14. We Haven't Met Before – Part One

**Greetings Programs! Yes, I know. I updated late; but at least I finished now. Anyway, things have been a bit tough lately. (I stretched a few tendons and ligaments during a yoga class. That didn't end well for me and I'm still recovering) Oh well; things don't work out for everyone. And I'm gonna have to give out a little warning in advance. There's some minor torture that occurs in the end. My apologies for being so cruel to one of my favorite OC's, but it had to be done. :(  
But despite that graphic part in the end, please enjoy this chapter! :)**

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**Chapter 14: We Haven't Met Before – Part One**

Paige's POV

She laughed at the ridiculous joke that Jay made. Sometimes his jokes are hilarious and other times, she just wants to cough in response, which does get a funny reaction from him most of the time.

Emi giggled and kissed his cheek. "You're always so funny!" She stood up and took his hand. "Let's go now!"

Paige closed her eyes and shook her head. Her friends were sometimes too frisky.

Jay, surprised, started stuttering. "Wait! What? Where're we going? What are we doing?"

Emi rubbed her nose against his playfully. "I'm gonna show you something amazing!" She pointed her finger to the sky and dramatically announced. "To the City Square!" Emi turned and grinned at Paige. "You're coming too, right?"

Paige smiled and shook her head again. "Uh, no thanks. I've been feeling a bit tired lately." She lied.

Jay stuck out his tongue. "Okay then; suit yourself!" He chuckled and swept Emi off her feet, carrying her out the door.

When they were gone, Paige stood up and also walked out the door. It was nice outside; the air was perfect and there was only a light breeze that teased her hair.

She looked up at the sky and could see lots of different colored lights dancing in the sky. It was beautiful. She walked along the streets and took the time to admire the detail and texture of it.

Paige smiled. Life couldn't get any better than this. She had a home, a job, new friends, and so much more than that. It was the kind of life that no one would ever want to turn down.

And Paige would never want to…

It was so quiet outside that she could hear disk fighting going on. Paige ran towards the noise.

A male program with white-blue primary circuits and dark green secondary circuits being attacked by a black guard. He had light brown shaggy hair that went down just below his eyebrows and was swept to the right side of his head. His hazel eyes widened with fear as he was knocked to the ground.

Anger boiled within Paige as she saw it happen. Clu's guards weren't supposed to be here!

Paige drew her disk and attacked the black guard. When she knocked him out, she rushed over to the attack victim to look at his injuries. He was pretty dinged up, but didn't look too bad in shape. Paige first got him as far away from the scene as possible and leaned him up against a wall and took his disk to fix the damages.

When he recovered, he looked up at Paige and stared at her beautiful face. Then he started to smile a little, grateful for his savior. "Hi…"

Paige looked at him and smiled back. "Uh, Hi." She said nervously. She had to admit that he was kind of cute. "So…what happened before I got here?" She asked.

He slowly started to stand up and exhaled. "Um, well…they followed me." He said lamely.

Paige raised an eyebrow. "Uh huh." She crossed her arms. "You get in trouble or something?" He noticeably tensed up. Paige sighed. "Never mind." She extended her hand. "I'm Paige."

He looked down at the ground for a moment, thinking. "I'm…Sky." He said, shaking her hand.

Paige smirked. "That's quite a…unusual name." She said.

Sky shrugged. "It's abbreviated. I prefer to be known and called by the nickname."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Well, okay then, **Sky**." She lingered on his name when she said it.

Sky was about to say something when he heard music and loud cheering. "What in User's name is going on?" He asked.

Paige sighed. "I don't know, someone's hosting a public get-together." She looked around the buildings and to the sky. "It's a very friendly place. No war, no gangs…anymore, and everyone's very friendly; close together and united."

Sky smiled. "If it's a public party, then we should take advantage of it. I want to have some fun, especially after I recovered from a not-so-fun brutal attack." He looked at Paige. "Are you gonna go?"

Paige sighed. "I wasn't going at first, but…now I do want to have a little bit of fun, I guess." She shrugged. "And something tells me you don't want to get attacked like that again."

Sky shook his head quickly. "No! Let me tell you; they're not fun programs to be around!" He said as he walked to the City Square.

Paige nodded. "Believe me, I know all too well." She touched her upper arm where she remembered Clu's disk slicing into it. She shivered at the memory.

Sky looked at Paige. "Are you cold?" He asked.

Paige shook her head. "No, just a disturbing flashback."

Sky looked down and nodded slowly. He understood that she had her share of trauma in life.

Paige's surprised expression softened. "It's okay, though; I'm fine now." The music and cheering noises got louder as they got closer. She wondered what her friends would be thinking if they saw her coming to the party after she said that she didn't feel up to it.

When they got to the entrance of the area, Sky looked at Paige. "So…now what do you wanna do?" Paige liked the song that was currently playing. She started shifting from one foot to another in a subtle dance. Sky noticed it and smiled. "You like this song?" He asked.

Paige nodded. "It's my favorite." Without warning, Sky grabbed her hand and spun her, dipping her after that. Paige was caught completely off-guard from his actions. "What are you doing?" She asked.

Sky pulled her upright again. "Sorry, did you not want to dance?" He let go of Paige's hand.

"No, it's fine. But you could warn a girl." She said, casually and trying to keep a straight face, which she was failing at doing.

Sky smirked. "But I noticed that you're not the type of girl who always needs to know of surprises in advance. I saw that you could hold your own easily in a fight." He grabbed her hand and spun her again. "I'm not stupid, you know."

Paige quickly slipped out of his grip and cartwheeled over his shoulder, landing behind him. "I know you're not." She whispered in his ear.

He turned and grabbed her wrist, pulling her flush against his chest.

The song turned slow and the mood changed. Paige pulled away and stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Sky looked like he was about to ask her to dance again, but Paige wasn't feeling up to something like that.

She started to look around. "I wonder where my friends are." She commented.

"Probably dancing deeper within the crowd." Sky replied with a shrug.

Paige turned away and started to disappear into the crowd. "I should go find them." She said. "I'll see you around."

Sky sighed and looked at the ground. "Yeah, okay. See you." When Paige was gone, he casually turned and walked away. It would be smart to find an apartment before Clu's soldiers found him again.

…

Ace's POV

_When?!_ He thought as he kept riding through the Outlands. _When did everyone turn against me?!_ The orange glow from the bikes chasing him got brighter as they gained on him.

He pushed his bike to go even faster.

He'd made a few BIG mistakes. One: He started out fighting on the wrong side in this conflict. Two: He'd managed to piss off Clu. And Three: He was stupid enough to let his guard down and let Clu's soldiers find him!

He growled in frustration. If he couldn't ditch these goons, he'd just have to face them head on. Without bothering to slow down, he derezzed his bike back into a baton and rolled once on the ground before planting his feet firmly into the rough terrain and sliding to a stop.

The bikes that were pursuing him weren't able to stop so abruptly and sped by; they circled and turned around, slowing down their bikes and stopping when they surrounded him.

Ace's red circuits glowed brightly in anticipation. "So, who's first?" He challenged. A soldier immediately threw a punch at him, which he dodged with ease. Another tried to kick him, but Ace quickly ducked under his enemy, coming up right behind him.

He quickly did a spinning kick and sent the guard flying back by 17 feet. Ace had knocked all the guards to the ground easily less than a micro. They groaned and remained sprawled on the ground in pain.

Ace smirked and put his hands on his hips. "You know, if Clu really wanted a runaway Special to get captured, he would've sent much better soldiers after me." He taunted.

He turned to keep heading in the direction he was going in and paused. "Oh and by the way, you should probably try and put more effort into fighting if you ever want to not end up as a pile of cubes." He advised with a smirk before rezzing his bike and continuing on his way.

He wiped his grin off his face and sighed. This was awful. Everyone thought or knew of him as a traitor now. His life was now a tangled mess of a labyrinth that no one could figure out, even he was a bit confused about himself.

His thoughts wandered to his ex-comrades from the team that Tron commanded. _Were they okay?_ He wondered. None of them were captured, that was for sure. All of their statuses were: 'On the run' or something like that.

All of them were running…except one. And that one program is still working under Clu. Ace scrunched his eyes closed for a moment. She worked directly under Clu as one of HIS secret agents. And she was about as loyal to him as a repurposed Basic.

Ace frowned in disgust. _She should know better! She should've figured it all out and understood Clu's true goals like I did!_ But she seemed completely blind to Clu's bad intentions. It was painful and torturous to see, let alone think about.

But the rest of the team…they were doing just fine.

And then there was Zoe. Ace stared hard at the rugged terrain up ahead. She was probably the best of all of them. He wasn't surprised if she was starting to do rebellious acts against Clu now.

He looked down in guilt. He saw her that one time in Beryllium when he was hunting the ISOs. The look on her face was the most shame-inducing thing he'd ever seen. He hesitated to take her in to Clu. He'd been given orders to hunt ISOs, not rogue Specials, so he had a loophole.

Plus she was an old comrade of his. She was always there to toughen him up or support him when he needed it. And the payback? Utter betrayal!

He knew he owed it to her; he hated being in someone's debt, so he turned away and kept going, pretending he never saw her. However, that wasn't the case for the soldiers saw her walk away.

The squad that chased her wasn't under his command, so he couldn't even stop them; not that he needed to though, because he saw her get away. When she completely disappeared, he turned and led his squad away from the scene to continue searching for the ISOs.

But after all that happened, he started to question what he was really doing.

**(Flashback)**

Ace sat on his bed, pondering over seeing Zoe in Beryllium. He wondered why on the Grid she was still there after everything was compromised. Tron's number one rule is to get out of the City if you're mission fails or someone dangerous is searching for you.

She was practically contradicting Tron's teachings. Then again, this has probably never happened to her before; as she was one of his top soldiers.

His attention was brought back to the present time when he received a knock on his door. "General, Sir; Clu has requested an audience with you."

Ace sighed and stood up, he really wanted to speak with Clu with the issues that he's facing. He felt weighed down with guilt now. Just a few cycles ago – several after seeing Zoe – he saw the actual war against the ISOs going on.

It wasn't a pleasant sight for him, either.

Everywhere he looked, he didn't just see the ISOs being killed, he saw Basics getting struck down too. It was almost horrifying to see. He thought that everyone agreed that the ISOs were evil. Clearly, he'd been proven wrong.

Ace quickly exited his room and walked down the stretch of hallway, heading for Clu's chambers. He stopped at the door to gather some extra nerve, and then stepped in front of the sensor to show that he was there.

The door clicked and opened for him. And the moment he stepped inside, the doors quickly shut for privacy. Ace stood straight and tall in front of Clu, who was facing out a window, watching the fireworks occur throughout Tron City and the Outlands.

After a few moments, Clu turned to face him with a blank expression. Ace bowed stiffly in front of his 'glorious' leader. "Sir," He said respectfully.

Clu only stared at him for a few moments, and eventually spoke. "Ace," He started. "I heard that you're assassination squad against the ISOs were very successful in Beryllium." He tilted his head to the side with a little nod. "Congratulations." He said curtly.

Ace smiled faintly to show gratitude for his praise. "Thank you, Sir." He said.

"But," Clu started. "It also seems that you look almost disappointed, General." Clu's eyes bored holes into him. "What's on your mind?" He questioned.

Ace kept eye contact with Clu as he spoke. "Clu, I'm a bit disturbed at what's been going on lately." He admitted. "I thought that we were only going to attack the ISOs, but I saw Basics getting derezzed too."

Clu chuckled and slowly shook his head. "Ace, let me explain some things to you." He grinned in an amused manner. "Firstly, we didn't attack the Basics; they attacked us to defend to ISO scum." He explained, sounding disgusted when he talked about the ISOs. "Also, this was all about killing the ISOs only, but since the rebellious Basics are so persistent, we know they won't stop fighting. So the only way to stop them is through derezzolution."

Ace slowly nodded. "Well, I guess that makes sense. But wouldn't it make more sense if we just captured the rebellious Basics and repurposed them all?"

Clu sighed. "Of course, we're doing that too. Unfortunately, not all of them can be caught easily. Sometimes, the harder ones just have to be ended right there and then."

For once, Ace completely disagreed with his leader, but he didn't object. Clu's eyes kept drilling into him. "Does that help you understand better?"

"Yes," Ace lied. "Absolutely, Sir."

Clu slowly nodded in mock satisfaction. "Good, then you're dismissed."

Ace bowed respectfully to Clu one last time before turning and leaving the chambers. He understood better now…much better. In fact, he then saw what was really going on and what Clu was really after. He didn't want to just liberate the Grid from ISOs; he also wanted absolute control over the Basics.

And he didn't like that at all.

In fact, he only joined Clu in the first place because of Clu's influential words. He truly believed that the ISOs were evil, so he fought alongside the Occupation to eliminate the disease that was infecting the Grid.

But after all that's happened and what he's seen, he wasn't so sure that he was doing the right thing. After all, there were quite a lot of ordinary Programs and Citizens that were fighting alongside the ISOs right now.

So…does that mean that they're not as evil as he thought? Maybe…

After all, Ace never got or saw any REAL proof that the ISOs are threatening to the Grid in any form or way. Therefore, he believed that the ISOs were innocent until he got solid evidence that they were guilty of something that Clu accused them of.

And until then, he was going to stop fighting on the wrong side and defend the victims; like he used to do in the first place. After he leaves the base with the needed materials for this fight, he'd need to find Cutler. He'd be the first program to go to.

**(End of Flashback)**

Since then, programs have had trouble trusting him and he was getting attacked by both sides still. _It's very strange that word quickly spreads about the ISOs being attacked but word getting around about Ace's realization? Even Flynn probably wouldn't care now._

He squeezed his eyes shut tight in shame. He should've known what was going on. He understood the hints of Clu betraying Flynn but he didn't see through the lies that Clu personally told him?

He really needed to get a better grip on things or he may not last much longer out here.

Zoe's POV

She slowly opened her eyes to find herself in someplace…dark. Very dark. She tried to move, but found her hands and feet bound to a table of some sort with energy cuffs. She groaned from frustration and soreness. Her head still hurt.

She strained herself to see through the pitch black and look for her captor, but failed to do so. If anything, the darkness wasn't her friend. She shivered. She was still scared of it…

Even Tron once tried to snap her into shape and get over her fear of the dark but…it didn't turn out too well.

Zoe turned her head in the direction from which she heard laughter. Just from the sound of the insane laugh, she knew that she was going to be in big trouble.

Just for the moment, Zoe was able to swallow her fears and glare in the direction where she guessed the program was. "Who are you?" She demanded. "And what do you want with me?"

She heard another chuckle from the same program, only it was coming from another direction now. She hated this place already. "You mean, you don't already know?" A male program's voice asked. "You weren't told either?" He chuckled again. "Maybe you should ask Tron that the next time you see him."

Zoe pulled against her restraints. "Gee, that sounds swell, really." She said in obvious sarcasm. "Unfortunately, I'm kind of stuck in a predicament already, so that's probably gonna have to wait." She let silence settle before adding. "Unless you'd be happy to let me go now."

She heard the smirk in his voice as he responded. "Actually no, that's not the top priority at the moment." Zoe clenched her teeth as she heard him come closer. "I actually came to get something. Something very important for future plans."

Zoe heard a device of some sort being activated and struggled as she heard it get closer to her. She felt a rough hand clamp down on her left arm to keep it still and then felt some kind of spinning blade dig into her. She screamed in agony as several pixels scattered next to her body from the wound.

Just as quick as it came, the device stopped damaging her arm any further and turned off. The program then set it down on the table next to her leg. Zoe struggled to keep her breathing under control. "What do you want from me?!" She shouted.

She heard another chuckle. "Do you know what a Special's pixels are capable of doing?" He asked as he gathered up some. "They're a good source for battery power, almost as good as the Special themselves being used as one. Unfortunately, that didn't work out so well last time it happened. So it'd be better to get what you need now. Because pixels can't escape on their own." He explained.

Zoe mind felt foggy and clouded from the pain. "I…don't understand." She managed to get out.

"Of course you don't." He said dryly. "You wouldn't understand the genius behind my master plan."

"So…you're a sociopath." She concluded. "You want to power up some kind of doomsday device to cause chaos." She accused.

"Not that bad of a guess for a blondie." He taunted as he strode back over to her.

Zoe moaned from the pain that still remained in her arm. "So…who are you?" She asked. "You definitely don't work under Clu."

Zoe glared up at him as he was finally in her field of vision. What immediately caught her attention were the circuits on his face. "You're…an ISO?!" She barely got out. She felt so dizzy that she was barely conscious.

He chuckled. "My name is Cyrus." He said. "But I'm usually thought of as the kind of program that is to be feared." He glared down at her. "And for the record," He pressed two fingers into her fresh wound. "I'm not an ISO."

Zoe screamed again from the shooting pains. Oh Users, it was excruciating. She'd pick being taken by Clu over this situation any cycle.

She started slipping into unconsciousness again as she could no longer withstand the torture that she was enduring. She wanted it all to stop right there and then, but the best that she got, was more darkness...

* * *

**Yep, I know what you all are thinking. We're no longer doing sparkly rainbows and purple unicorns anymore. There are going to be a few more graphic scenes later on. (Probably not going to get worse than what just happened though)**

**Ally: It better not!**

**Zoe: I hate you for life!**

**Me: Well it had to be done. I was told by someone that I wasn't tough enough on my characters.**

**Everyone: *_***

**Me: *Nervous chuckle* Hehe ummm...TRON LIVES?**

**Everyone: Charge! B(**

**Me: Toodles! *Runs away***


	15. We Haven't Met Before – Part Two

**Greetings, Programs! :D I managed to update on the right day with an exceptionally long chapter this time! I'm happy now so hopefully, this'll make you guys happy too! So in this chapter, you'll learn more depth to Zoe's fear of the darkness but why she fears it isn't going to be revealed until later on. Sorry guys. :(  
And yes, Zoe, my very favorite and selfless OC is going to be tormented one last time before she finally gets away. Hopefully it won'd be too graphic for anyone. And just as a special treat for you guys, I'll give more depth to some of the ISO characters and their thoughts in this chapter. I think you guys will like that! ;)  
And just because I feel like it, I'm gonna bully Beck and Ally a little bit. :P  
So, enough about the author's note! If you haven't started reading yet, you should! Hehe  
Enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 15: We Haven't Met Before – Part 2**

Cassie's POV

She walked through the library, clutching her disk tightly and carefully looking around for her opponent. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" She said in a level toned voice as she searched all over Evelyn's base for the threatening program. "You can't hide forever!" She said with a wicked smirk. "You'll have to face me eventually."

She saw a blur of movement from the corner of her eye. She turned around but was too late to defend herself when she was tackled to the ground and the deactivated rim of her opponent's disk lightly touched her neck.

Her fellow competitor grinned. "Derezzed! I win the game!" Valor got up off her and started whooping as he jumped up and down in victory.

The rest of the eliminated players found and approached the couple. Some of them patted Valor on the back and congratulated him while others helped Cassie up and assured her that he'd be the first one to be eliminated next game.

Valor smirked at Cassie and stuck his tongue out at her playfully. Cassie put her hands on her hips and grunted. Everyone snickered. "Oh Users!" Another ISO said. "We almost forgot about the penalty!" Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement. "Who was the first to be eliminated?"

They all rested their eyes on a short male program with short white hair. He giggled nervously. "Oh no…" He mumbled with a nervous smile. "What's the penalty going to be this time?"

Everyone smirked. "Yeah, what do we have in store for Ty?" An ISO asked.

Valor rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm…I propose that he does something that was never done as a penalty before. Something overall risky and dangerous." He thought for a moment. "How about Ty goes out and sets Clu's throne ship on fire!" Everyone roared with excitement. He turned to Cassie. "And the last two ISOs that remained standing the longest this round should go with."

Cassie smirked with confidence. "That's fine by me!" She said with absolute confidence. She looked at biggest loser of the game. "What about you, Ty? You up for this one?"

He hesitated. "I-I'm not sure about this." He admitted.

"What? You don't have the confidence to do this one?" Valor challenged. "You're lucky that you'll be accompanied for this one!"

Ty shook his head. "It's not that. It's just…what if we end up like Katie…?"

The room fell silent. Cassie's face hardened. "It won't come to such extremes like that; you've got nothing to worry about." She assured. "…Katie derezzed because she let her guard down. We're going to be much more careful now so we don't share the same fate as so many others have." She plastered on a brave face. "Am I right, everyone?!"

Everyone cheered and whistled in agreement. Valor quieted everyone down. "But we have to make sure that Evelyn doesn't know about this plan until we come back successful. Otherwise, she'll freak out." Everyone snickered. He grinned. "Good, then we have nothing to worry about."

Just at that moment, Evelyn approached the group. "Who won and lost this time?" She said out of curiosity.

Cassie sighed. "Valor won and Ty lost…again." Ty sheepishly looked down. Cassie put on a pouty expression. "And I was THIS close to winning this time! I was one of the two last people standing before HE…" She pointed at Valor in accusation. "Struck me down!"

Evelyn shrugged. "What do you want me to do about it? Rules are rules." She was about to turn and walk away but stopped. "Speaking of which, what's the penalty for the loser this time?" She smiled. She honestly couldn't wait to hear what crazy punishment they'd come up with this time. The creative possibilities were infinite.

Valor smirked. "We're all gonna carry him outside and…" He thought hard for a moment before snapping his fingers. "We'll dump him in the sea!" Everyone whooped and went crazy.

Evelyn rolled her eyes and walked away. "Whatever," She muttered with a shake of her head. "It's okay as long as no one gets hurt." She stated and walked away.

Cassie punched his shoulder. "Really! Tossing Ty in the sea of simulation is the best thing you could come up with for Evelyn?!"

Valor stuck his tongue out at her. "Yeesh! Evelyn always expects something lame from me! I figured it'd look normal if I did just that!"

Ty shook his head and started heading for the exit. "Stop arguing! Let's go, slowpokes!" He laughed when Valor and Cassie stumbled over each other to catch up with their comrade to have some REAL fun.

Cassie smirked when they left the library and rezzed their lightcycles. "Cherish this night, everyone!" she said to her friends. "This may be one of the few times to actually get an actual rush of excitement!"

Valor smiled with pleasure. "Yes, we'll avenge the dead ISOs that were wiped out during the war. We'll get back at Clu for what he's done to us!"

Ty shook his head. "It's only partial vengeance! Blowing up his ship is nothing compared to what he did to us!"

Cassie nodded. "You're right! Slowly but surely, we'll gradually get even with the enemy and level the playing field."

It didn't take much effort to sneak into the giant, 'impenetrable' base that once belonged to Tesler. Rumors say that he was derezzed under mysterious and unnecessary circumstances.

And by the time they entered, the three ISOs changed their suits into black ones that had no circuits and showed no skin. They all put on their masks so their faces would never be known publicly. They were going all-out stealth for this mission.

They trio looked around and found Clu's throne ship parked in the very center of the docking bay, abandoned and unoccupied. Cassie looked around to make sure the coast was clear.

Ty narrowed his eyes and looked around like he was distracted by something. Cassie punched his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?" She asked.

Ty kept looking around frantically. "Where's Valor?" Cassie's eyes widened and she looked around too. Someone tapped their shoulders and they turned to see Valor as the culprit. Ty's face washed over with relief. "We were worried that you got caught or something." He admitted.

Cassie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I wasn't worried!" She said.

Valor cleared his throat. "Um, focus on the mission, please!" He said. "If we succeed the way we expect to, we'll be written in the history archives!"

Cassie rolled her eyes and once again focused on the task at hand, scanning the docking bay for any soldiers nearby.

She nodded at Ty to let him know he could sneak over to the ship. Cassie was the second to sneak across when all the soldiers' backs were turned. Valor came over third.

Cassie's eyes lit up with excitement and anticipation when she saw Ty pull out a bomb that he put together himself. Truthfully, Ty was definitely more smart than strong, which was pretty handy in cases like this.

Ty and Cassie snuck into Clu's ship while Valor stood guard and watched out for any programs. He smirked, knowing that they'd succeed. If anyone got close to the ship, he'd press a detonator and several paint bombs would go off, drawing attention away from Clu's throne ship. Oh, what a surprise the paint bombs would leave too.

Cassie chewed on her lip with anxiety as she kept glancing around the room for any guards. She turned to Ty and nodded once more as they both headed up to the small control room.

When the doors opened, they were greeted by a surprised guard that stood right next to the door. Cassie quickly elbowed him in the face with excessive force that knocked him out. Then she dragged him across the control room and looked him in a cubby while Ty planted the bomb.

"Alright, let's go now." Cassie said to Ty when their priorities were taken care of. They later stepped out of the ship to find no Valor in sight. "Where'd he go?" Cassie asked.

She got violently shaken by the shoulders as someone shouted. "Arrrrgh!"

Cassie let out a startled cry, thinking she got caught by a soldier. She realized that she was wrong when she found herself face to face with Valor. "Don't do that again!" She said, shoving him away from her.

All three rebels froze when they heard programs getting too close for their liking.

"Did you hear that?" A guard asked his colleague.

"Yeah, I thought I saw movement around here too."

Cassie's pupils dilated as she stood frozen while Valor simply smirked and pressed the button on his detonator. Just after he did that, several paint bombs exploded on the walls of the hangar.

At first, it was nothing but colorful smoke that clouded the air. But when it all cleared, what was left on the walls was written in blinding white colors with a disturbing message.

"_**ISOS RISE WITH VENGEANCE!"**_

Cassie looked at the walls in shock. "You did that?!" She stared at Valor in surprise. He nodded with a satisfied smirk.

"Hey! Look at that!" All the guards were immediately drawn to the scene to see what was written there.

"Go!" Valor said to his comrades as they started running for the exit of the base. He then looked at Cassie and Ty. "You planted the bomb properly, yes?" He asked. Both ISOs nodded. "Good."

Ty pulled out the detonator and shook it. "Everyone has the honor of pushing it at the same time!" He said with a smile.

At the same time like Ty promised, the trio of rebels pushed the button and watched the sickeningly yellow ship exploded in beautiful blue flames. They whooped, jumped up and down, and cheered with excitement, not even caring that they were drawing attention to themselves since they were right there at the exit.

They turned their heads and smirked at the soldiers when they were finally noticed. But the guards were so far away from them that they'd never catch up in time.

"Oh no!" Valor said, pretending to be in panic. "We've been spotted by Clu's forces!"

Ty chuckled and took part in the teasing too. "Come on, guys! We gotta go now! Move in one hour!" They all started taking very slow steps towards the guards…on purpose of course.

Cassie giggled. "Wait, guys! We're going the wrong way!" They all turned around in slow motion to continue their slow-step to the exit.

Just then, gunfire could be heard and they all quickly turned to fine themselves being pursued by several light choppers. "Uh oh" Cassie said.

"Go! Go!" Valor shouted as they all pulled out their batons and rezzed their bikes to get away from the enemy that was now quickly approaching them.

Once they were sure that they'd gotten away from the Occupation, they slowed down and changed their suits back to their 'messenger's' uniform. Ty started laughing. "That was…INCREDIBLE! We should do this stuff more often!"

They all laughed and whooped and slapped each other on the backs with pride as they approached the library. Cassie smiled. "Valor, this may have been one of the best ideas you're ever come up with!" They all laughed some more.

When they stepped into the base, they stopped dead and froze up in fear when they came face to face with Evelyn.  
And she didn't look very happy either…

Cassie fiddled with her hair and smiled innocently. "Uh, hi…Evelyn. Um, whatcha doin'?" She asked a bit too sweetly.

Evelyn simply narrowed her eyes further, obviously not buying the act. "I'd like a word with you three," She said coldly. "NOW!"

…

Ally's POV

She came back from running around just in time…to see trouble going on at the Garage. Ally picked up the pace again and ran as fast as she could to try and get the situation under control. _This isn't good! This isn't good! This isn't good!_

There were lots of obnoxious banging noises and gunshots came from the Garage. Ally's eyes widened even more as she hoped that no one was severely injured.

She stepped inside and it was all chaos. Some of the vehicles that the mechanics were working on were infected with viruses and were malfunctioning like there was no tomorrow.

And Link…poor Link had no control over his machine. He didn't seem to know what he was doing either.

Able was looking at all the chaos; even he wasn't sure how to resolve this issue.

Beck? Well, her boyfriend was nowhere to be found. Maybe out looking for her? She doubted that.

Ally snapped of her stupor of shock form the horrifying sight in front of her and quickly pulled out her smart-drive. She knew not to do this unless the situation was dire…she didn't know if this scenario was legit, but it was definitely necessary.

She smiled and silently thanked Google for engineering this little device for her. Then she pressed a red button on the device and authorized it to kill off all technology in the room.

Everything quickly died down and the ceiling lights flickered out. She winced as she pocketed her device again before programs noticed it was her who did it.

Of course, everyone was confused at what was happening but they were glad that they could somehow keep repairing their vehicles without disturbance.

Able looked around the Garage in confusion from what happened. Eventually, his eyes lingered on Ally. She shyly waved hello to him as she approached him. "What in User's name happened here?" She asked while eyeing the destruction that occurred.

Able shrugged and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not entirely sure." He answered honestly. "But at least the vehicles stopped causing damages. The only problem now is that the lights in here are dead and the backup generators aren't working either.

Ally winced. _Yep, those aren't gonna work either._

Able sighed. "But all in all, I think it's worth having the lights killed since the machines have stopped malfunctioning."

"Able!" Dash called. "I've got some sort of virus infecting the vehicle's coding!"

"Same here!" Mara said.

"Me too!" Zed declared.

Link looked hard at the engine's functions. "I think I've got one too!"

Able narrowed his eyes. "Then this definitely didn't happen by coincidence." He said. "Someone obviously sabotaged everything in the Garage to cause safety hazards!"

Everyone gasped and glanced at each other. "But who would do such a horrible thing!" Mara asked.

Able calmed and silenced everyone. "I never said that it was anyone in this Garage that did this. Though I do know that someone in here killed all the power."

"Well, may Flynn thank that program for doing that!" Dash said. "Because my tank was about ready to blow my head up!"

Ally almost giggled from what he said, but kept quiet and thought it best not attract attention.

Beck picked the perfect time to show up too. "What in the name of Kevin Flynn happened here?!" He asked, seeming truly shocked and surprised by the mess.

"Beck!" Able shouted. "Come on, you're late again!"

Ally followed Beck as he hurried over to his station and got to work. "Hey," She greeted.

He looked up at her with tired eyes. "Hi."

She crossed her arms. "Uh, where were you?" She asked out of curiosity.

He kept glancing between and the floor. "Well…I was out and about." He said in a stuttering and tired-sounding voice.

Ally pursed her lips. "Are you okay? You look exhausted!" She paused. "I…didn't wake you up early or anything, did I?" She bit her lip.

Beck shook his head. "No, you didn't wake me; and there's nothing to worry about. I'm just fine."

Ally sighed and looked at Beck, unconvinced. "Alright then, and I just wanted to apologize for my bad mood last night. You're right, I take minor things way too seriously."

Beck smiled lightly and looked up at his girlfriend. "But you had your reasons to think so." He replied.

Ally narrowed her eyes in puzzlement. "Like what?"

Beck lowered his voice to a whisper. "You're right, you know, that Clu would come after us and we'd have to be able to run fast."

Ally smiled. "Yeah, I suppose. But I had no reason or proper excuse for the way I acted last night. Our first fight was my fault." She admitted, sitting down cross-legged on the floor next to Beck, but keeping a safe distance from his lightcycle in case it somehow malfunctioned again.

Beck sighed and looked at Ally with an almost amused expression. "Um…do you know, by any chance, what happened here, exactly?"

Ally giggled. "It was an absolute madhouse! Everything in the Garage was malfunctioning and the broken weaponry was shooting in every possible direction. I'm actually surprised that no one actually got severely injured!"

Beck looked up at the ceiling. "What's up with the lights though?"

Ally stiffened up. "Well, I'm not entirely sure. But it appears that everything went dead."

"Thank the Users for that." Beck mumbled as he furrowed his eyebrows at the corrupted code in the lightbike that he was working on. "That's peculiar." He said, taking a closer look.

"What?" Ally asked. "What's peculiar?" She scooted closer to Beck and peeked into the engine as well.

Deep inside the damaged, twisted code, he could just barely make out a few flashing lights and a faint beeping sound. Every nano, there were more flashing lights and the beeping got faster. It was all just barely noticeable, but Beck knew what was going on.

"Ally, get down!" Beck shouted and pushed her away just as his bike exploded and sent him literally flying across the Garage. Ally on the other hand, only got hit with a few bits of shrapnel here and there and received a few minor cuts.

Her eyes widened. "Beck!" She shouted and ran towards her boyfriend. Everyone stared at Beck and his bike in shock. This was definitely not a coincidence.

Beck was thankfully conscious, but he looked like he wouldn't be like that for long. He was a total mess. He had long cuts and deep gashes all over him either from shrapnel or from the explosion itself. Plus, he got a few minor burns.

Beck kept laying where he was, looking completely in shock. His eyes were wide open, unblinking, and he couldn't seem to stop panting.

Ally knelt by his side and gently nudged an undamaged part of his messed up shoulder. "Beck! Beck, you okay?" She asked, worried that something bad happened to him besides external injuries.

Beck glanced at Ally, but didn't say anything at first. Then his expression softened a little and spoke in a dry, level voice. "Well, other than getting blown across an entire room and receiving a few scratches, I'm fine."

Ally was caught off-guard by his response but stifled a laugh. She reached for his disk but he grabbed her wrist tightly. "Trust me." She whispered. "I'm just going to repair your code."

Beck hesitated and let go, trusting her not to go snooping through his memories or anything of the sort. She opened up the code, only bits and pieces that were damaged so no one who was peeking would see what his whole code looked like. That would just raise questions.

Mara took a good look at Beck and around the Garage. She walked over to Able. "Someone's definitely behind this." She said. "The question is, who'd do such a thing?"

Zed walked over to Mara. "Is it possible that there's a program out there that we know? Someone who doesn't like us?" He asked.

Mara's eyes widened. "Cyrus." She mumbled.

Able narrowed his eyes. "Cyrus?" He asked. "That psycho?!" He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That's a good guess. I think Beck deserves to know this theory when he recovers." He walked away with several other mechanics to clean up what was left of the bike that Beck worked on.

Mara narrowed her eyes at Ally. "I thought his girlfriend was experienced with music. I didn't realize that she had medical training too."

Zed crossed his arms. "Well, you're a mechanic and you know the basics for patching up a wound. Besides, considering the stuff we saw in her purse, she's definitely been through a lot. It wouldn't be a surprise if she just picked up a few tricks along the way."

Mara shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose you're right." She smiled. "I wonder if she supports the Renegade's cause too."

Zed smirked. "Or maybe she supports another rebel leader." He shot back as they walked away to get back to work once they realized that Beck would be okay.

Ally sifted through more and more of Beck's coding and double-checking to make sure she didn't miss any damaged code before she even let him sit up.

Beck sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose while he was thinking.

Ally frowned at him. "What's wrong?" she asked.

With Ally's assistance, Beck shakily stood up and slowly shook his head. "I…might have a theory how this happened…and who most likely caused this."

Ally stared hard at the floor, also wondering who would do such a thing. Then she realized it. "Cyrus…" She whispered. Ally looked back up only to see that Beck vanished again.

She narrowed her eyes and sighed. "Why do Beck's sudden disappearances raise my suspicions." She mumbled as she turned around and headed for the elevator. "Probably because it happens frequently for long periods of time." She shook her head as she made her way to Beck's bedroom to wait for him there. "If Beck gets himself hurt again, I'm not gonna be quite as happy to fix him up." She said with a small amount of humor in her voice.

…

Beck's POV

Beck sped through the Outlands on his bike. He needed to see Tron immediately to discuss this. Whoever was behind the sabotages in the Garage was definitely a program who knew either Able…or him.

He skidded to a stop in the garage part of the hideout and closed his bike back into a baton. Beck sprinted to the elevator and the doors shut behind him. He impatiently tapped his foot as he went up.

The doors opened with a pleasant _ding_ and Beck ran out and over to the large screen that Tron was almost always on. Surprisingly, he was instead looking out the window and using his zoom-in scanning device.

He was obviously frantically searching for something, and wasn't paying much attention to Beck. He looked at Tron with worry and then eventually cleared his throat loudly.

Tron flinched and quickly spun around with his disk out and activated. He relaxed when he realized that it was just Beck. He put it back just as Beck approached him further. "You were just here a PectroCycle ago! I thought you were at the Garage now."

Beck frowned at his mentor. "You look troubled." He commented. "Usually that's me, not the other way around."

Tron sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "A lot's going on right now, Beck. Two very important things happened and they're both very pressing matters."

Beck blinked. "Does that include the incident at the Garage?" He asked.

Tron quickly turned to Beck. "What?"

Beck drew his disk and played the memory when his bike exploded on him. When it ended, Beck docked his disk again and sighed. "Apparently before I arrived, ALL of the vehicles were infected with a virus of some sort and were malfunctioning like crazy." He frowned. "Then all the power in the Garage died out. Even the backup generators didn't work."

Tron narrowed his eyes. "Well this is just perfect!" He muttered crossly. "Just another problem to deal with!"

"Could Cyrus be involved with this?" Beck questioned. "What do you think?"

"Ha!" Tron turned to face the zooming device on the window. "What do I think?! I think everything's falling apart for us!" He paused. "And what other program would sabotage your Garage other than Cyrus. So yes, it's most likely him that's responsible for that."

Beck slowly nodded. "So…what're the other two pressing matters that are making your head spin?" He asked.

Tron sighed. "Well you wouldn't understand one of them. But the other…" Tron trailed off. "Zoe's gone missing." He continued scanning the streets and apartments with his device.

Beck narrowed his eyes. "Yep, you're right."

Tron glanced back at Beck. "What do you mean? What am I right about?"

Beck gently ushered Tron away from the window. He then took over scanning so Tron could take a break. "It does seem that everything's falling apart."

Tron sat quietly on the stairs as Beck kept searching. All of a sudden, he stood up and ran back over to Beck. "It all makes sense now!" He smacked his forehead with realization. "I know what's going on!"

Beck paused and glanced back his mentor in confusion. "W-What?"

"I'll explain on the way there! Come on! We have to rescue Zoe!"

Beck blinked, feeling a little confused by Tron's sudden actions. Nonetheless, he hurried after Tron. "Um, where are we going?"

…

Tron's POV

By the time Beck caught up with Tron, he was still catching his breath and looking around the dark alley. His white Tron suit stood out completely in this place. Tron wasn't looking at the walls or his surroundings though. Tron scanned the ground for something, anything, a clue.

Then he found something interesting. There was something small-ish, dark, and limp that layed on the ground, unmoving. Tron narrowed his eyes and eyed it carefully. Beck panted and approached Tron to get a better look at what he was holding.

Beck frowned at what Tron was staring at. He stooped over to pick it up. "Don't touch it!" Tron said.

Beck quickly withdrew and backed up. "What? Is it gonna explode?"

Tron shook his head as he crouched down. "No, I want to examine the way its laying down." Tron sighed. "This is Zoe's cloak. She wore it when she went for a walk so I know she was here at some point."

Beck silently examined its form. "It looks like it was just ripped off and strewn carelessly." He commented.

Tron rubbed his chin in thought. "Or perhaps it fell off of her shoulders when something happened." He said. "That clasp she used for it wasn't very good and was about to break." He said. "It would only take a scuffle to break the thing." He bent down and picked up a clip of some kind that was once attached to the cloak.

He looked at it carefully. He kept glancing at the area where the broken clasp layed, to the clasp itself, to the cloak and the way it was resting on the ground.

The black fabric was lying on the ground with most of the inside of it exposed the air while the outside of it was resting against the smooth, cold ground. It was rumpled and slightly folded in some places vertically, showing that Zoe must've been knocked to the ground and landed on her side.

"She was attacked from behind while she was walking." Tron concluded, finally grabbing the cloak and standing up. "I'm sure of it."

Beck sighed. "Okay, so now we know how she was taken. But we don't even know for sure who has her and where she is now."

Tron looked straight ahead and started walking again, glancing around at the buildings occasionally. "We have to wait. Zoe's very smart and has been in these kinds of situations before. Even if she knows that she can't escape on her own, she'll know how to get a signal out to me. Then we can bust her out of…wherever she is."

But despite Tron's faith in his soldier, he frowned under his mask. Even Zoe wasn't the perfect program. She had her fears and weaknesses…like the dark.

Tron rolled his eyes from the memory.

**(Flashback)**

He took away all her weapons (including her disk) and locked her in an empty room. He then shut off the lights and let her deal with it for several Micros.

Even he knew it probably wasn't the best methods to use but it was always good to face fears head on.  
But Zoe didn't know how to do that.

By the time Tron opened the door to let her out, she practically raced out of the room at the speed of light, trampling Tron in the process. He then had to search the entire building to look for her spooked and shaky figure, but didn't find her until he saw Ace chuckling and looking at the ceiling.

Tron looked at him as if he was crazy but followed his gaze. His eyes widened when he took in the sight of Zoe clinging to a platform directly below a ceiling light and sitting up top there in blinding 'paradise'.

And her form?! She had her knees drawn to her chest and her arms were wound tightly around them. Her whole body was shaking badly as she kept staring into the light that she sat directly below.

Tron finally managed to coax her out of her spot (which included him having to promise her that he wouldn't do that again). She started climbing down and when she reached the bottom, her appearance nearly broke through Tron's composure and he seriously almost started laughing at her.

Because she stayed directly in front of the powerful light's rays for so long, all of her skin that was exposed was burned a reddish/pinkish color instead of the creamy white color that her skin usually was. Now she stuck out drastically like a…light in darkness.

All it took to set her off was Ace, who took one quick glance at her face and lost all seriousness that he had that moment. "A-a-ah hahahahaha! Oh Users of the Grid!" He clutched his sore chest from laughing. "You-you…you need to see yourself right now. Hahahahahaha!" He started rolling on the ground and pounded it with his fist to try and calm down.

Zoe glared at her comrade and threw a punch to his face. He caught her stiff arm with a smirk, still trying his best not to laugh. She pulled away in irritancy and folded her arms as Ace quickly retreated wit stifled giggles.

She turned and narrowed her eyes at Tron. "This is your fault!" She snapped and stormed away from him.

When she was gone, Tron looked around to see that the room he stood in was completely empty. He closed his eyes and shook his head with a small curl in his lips. He covered his mouth with his hands and started chuckling to himself, remembering Zoe's pink, burnt face.

**(End of Flashback)**

Tron closed his eyes and smiled slightly at the thought of Zoe's colored face. That was one of his priceless memories, part of the good times. If he could, he'd do anything to get that stuff back. Anything…

He turned back to Beck. "Come on," He said, beckoning his mentee. "We need to keep searching. I'm sure that we'll find her soon.

Beck's face looked shocked, surprised and he pointed a finger in the direction he was looking at.

Tron quickly turned to follow his gaze and his brows furrowed at the sight of something…peculiar. This was an interesting cycle, indeed. "Okay," Tron said. "Let's investigate that, then." Both programs took off running in the direction where they saw the bright colors.

…

Zoe's POV

She was suddenly shaken awake by her shoulder unceremoniously. She gritted her teeth against the pain and slowly opened her eyes to face the dark room once again.

Noticing that she was still in the same predicament as last time, she groaned and didn't even bother struggling. "What now?" She asked, trying to sound brave, but her voice came out ragged and shaky from the sudden use of it earlier.

Cyrus smirked. "Well it would be rude of me if you weren't awake to witness what part you've given me to enact my revenge."

She closed her eyes again and pressed the back of her head harder against the cold table. "Revenge…against who?" She asked tiredly. A lot of this made no sense to her at all. She was getting sick and tired of it.

She opened her eyes slightly too see him smirking at her while he was holding some kind of detonator. Zoe rolled her eyes. "That's what I've gone through the trouble for?!" She managed to let out a fake chuckle. "Wow, that's a total lose-lose situation here!"

Cyrus's maniacal laugh echoed throughout the room. "No, this is just the detonator. What you helped me make is going to cause a lot of destruction though." He leaned forward. "That's a win-lose situation."

Zoe mustered up some extra energy and bravery to glare up at him. He grabbed her still-injured left arm, causing her to stifle another sound of pain as he pried open her left hand and pressed the detonator into it and moved her thumb over the button.

He chuckled. "And guess what? You get to do detonate the prototype." Zoe looked up at him with an unreadable expression.

"Seriously? You made a prototype?" Cyrus smirked as an answer. Zoe let go of the device and let it drop down next to her. "I'm not doing it." She said. "I'm not about to be held accountable for any destruction of such!" She turned her head away from him. "I bet you decided to make your test run see how much it was capable of by planting it inside a building of something."

"Do you specialize in programs like me or something?" Cyrus asked with his arms crossed. He was clearly amused of her right now.

Zoe let out an abrupt and loud "HA!" She shook her head with a hopeless smile. "There's no one out there like you! I've never seen someone so…empty and sad before." She glared into his cold eyes. "You're the worst of all of them!"

Cyrus smiled at her. "Thank you, I'll take that as a compliment." He stepped closer to her and quick as lightning, he drew his disk and held its activated rim against her neck. "But I doubt that's what it was intended as!"

Zoe closed her eyes and dug her fingertips into the table to the point of pain. There was nothing else she could do but try to distract herself from what could possibly happen any nano.

She opened her eyes wide and stared right into Cyrus's emotionless ones. He narrowed them as he withdrew his disk and proceeded to slash one of her forearms with it. Zoe scrunched up her face and gritted her teeth so that she'd only manage to release a small whine from the pain.

She kept digging her fingers into the smooth, cold surface of the table as if she was trying to break the surface and dig deep into it. She slowly inhaled and exhaled when it kept happening to both of her arms.

Both programs were so focused on what was happening that neither even noticed a long, thin line of glowing graffiti crept across the floor and outside a hidden exit. It was hardly visible because of how thin it was but when it got outside the room, it flourished and blossomed into bright colors of art, marking the building they were in.

Zoe felt something strange occur other than the disk constantly slicing down her arm. She felt her strength and energy being focused and used on something. She quickly withdrew her fingers from the table and that particular sensation went away.

Cyrus paused and looked up, his eyes scanned the room as if he was remembering something. Then Zoe understood why. She could hear running outside that was…getting closer.

Once Cyrus put two and two together, he forced the detonator into her hands and made her push the button with his own hands. He looked into her dull eyes with satisfaction. "Whether you like it or not, you're now held accountable for the loss of lives and destruction that will soon happen."

Right after he said it, there was an explosion that erupted outside that must've toppled a tall building because the Grid started shaking dramatically. Cyrus smirked when it all stopped. "And if you think that was really something, wait until the REAL one detonates!"

He released another insane laugh that lasted another short amount of time before he heard the footsteps again, closer than ever. "I think I found the building!" A muffled yet familiar voice shouted from outside.

Zoe locked her frightened eyes with his calm ones. He pulled out a small, circular device and she heard it ticking away.

Cyrus laid one hand on the table next to her and spoke carefully. "It's a shame we didn't have enough time to see the finale, but I suppose there's always next time."

He carefully placed the device onto her. After the last second ticked away, it released a small amount of energy that was strong enough to knock her out. Her vision started to blur a little bit and the last thing she saw was Cyrus staring into her eyes until they finally closed and blocked out reality.

…

Beck's POV

He and Tron had ran over to check out the source where the paint-like substances were coming from. It didn't say any kinds of rebellious words or slogans on the walls and buildings, it just showed random blossoming images all over the place.

Eventually, Tron had found that all of the bursting, colorful images were all connected through a very thin and nearly invisible line of aqua blue that led into the building. He kicked down the door and quickly glanced around the room before entering.

Beck only saw one door that led out of the room (which didn't include the door that Beck and Tron just entered through) Both system monitors noticed that the line of blue continued through that one door.

This time, Beck walked over to open it. He closed his eyes behind his mask for a moment to brace himself for a fight before he opened it with hid disk out and ready.

What he expected was totally the opposite. Instead of seeing an opponent ready to fight him, he saw Zoe strapped down on a table, unconscious.

Tron and Beck glanced at each other's masks before running over to her and unbinding her. Beck quickly disabled the cuffs around her ankles in no time while Tron for once, was more gentle and careful when he freed her wrists.

Beck's eyes widened when he saw the obvious reason why. She had deep gashes that vertically ran up and down her forearms. From the looks of it, she was probably going to have some scars from this ordeal.

Tron then wrapped her cloak around her shoulders and picked her up in his arms, lifting her from the table. Beck's eyes caught some things on the table too. A detonator, which he quickly grabbed and put in his pocket. He also saw five colorful dots on each side of the table which was probably where the graffiti started in the first place. But Beck didn't know how it started though.

Beck quickly looked back at Tron while pointing to the marks. "Uh…wha- um how?" He stuttered, trying to figure it out. Tron shrugged. "We'll find that out later. First we need to get back to the hideout.

Beck gave up on speaking and just decided to follow him with his guard up. Covering his mentor from the rear side until they got to the giant mountain that was their hideout.

They stepped out of the elevator and made their way to the room that Zoe rested in. Tron set her down on the bed as he drew her disk to get to work on her injuries.

Beck scrunched his nose at what was left of the crook of her elbow and at the long cuts that were all over her forearms.

Tron, who seemed to sense Beck's minor discomfort, quickly turned to him. "You can leave now if you want. Otherwise, your girlfriend might worry."

Beck nodded as he stood up and exited the room with only one glance at Zoe's innocent, helpless, and her worn-out expressed face before closing the door behind him and leaving the hideout.

Only when he was right outside his bedroom door at the Garage, Beck realized what Tron said. "How did he know that I had a girlfriend?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and worry about it later as he opened the entrance to his dormitory. Inside, he saw Ally perched in a chair with a glass of energy in her hand. Her circuits glowed brightly from the beverage that she was still consuming.

Her colors were more identifiable and hard to ignore too. Beck eyed the neon green ones as his mind raced hundreds of miles per nano. He knew that color from other places!

Right at that moment, Ally turned around and faced Beck with a blank and somewhat ominous expression. "You almost got caught up in the curfew." She said right before the bells rang outside, signifying that curfew just started.

Her blank face broke and a smile of relief spread across her face. "You really had me worried, Beck." She said as she stood up and walked over to Beck.

But before he could embrace his girlfriend in any form or way, she slapped him hard across the face. Beck was caught off-guard from that and he stared down into Ally's moist, dark blue eyes. She gritted her teeth as if she was trying to fend off pain.

"Don't scare me like that again, Beck!" She shouted at him before the moisture started spilling from her eyes. For the first time, she was experiencing crying. And it was Beck's fault for that.

This time, she allowed Beck to pull her into a hug. She rested her curled hands against his chest as she let out her inner turmoil through the tears that wouldn't stop coming from her eyes.

Beck didn't know much of what to do since this was the first time he saw Ally in such emotional distress. The only thing he seemed to be able to do was hold her and gently rock her back and forth as she kept crying.

Beck pinched his lips together in shame. _Oh Users, may all these problems be washed away and cleansed when next cycle rolls forward._

When Ally finally calmed down, she pulled away and wiped away the last of the tears. "Sorry…" She said, avoiding eye-contact with Beck.

Beck gently laid his hand under her chin so she'd look up at him. He smiled tenderly. "It's okay." He said, rubbing the slightly red spot where she slapped him. "I probably did deserve that."

Ally's embarrassed and distressed frown eventually turned back into a small smile. She leaned forward and kissed the red spot on his cheek gently. "Yeah, but you probably didn't deserve to be hit that hard." She commented.

Beck chuckled. "I will admit that you have a very strong hand."

Ally blushed and stared back down at the floor. "Yeah, well a lot's happened to me since we got separated back in Neon." She said.

Beck nodded and looked at the floor too. "Same goes for me." He admitted, still rubbing his cheek and thinking about all that's happened before he ran into Ally for the second time.

* * *

**Yeah, a lot's happened lately. Oh! Yeah um, did I forget to mention that I added a flashback in Tron's POV! I thought it was a little funny, but then again, I've never really been good with humor except for the stupid things I said or did when I was little. :P  
Back on topic though, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Yes, it's a little graphic and torturous for Zoe but at least it's done now. I'm not gonna do that again until later on when we're deeper into this story. I promise to give warnings ahead of time because I personally like getting warnings; so I decided to do that for you guys in case you're a little like me. Yeah, I'm a little bit paranoid but you can never be too careful! ;)**

**Zoe: Yeah, I'll keep that in mind next time! :P**

**Beck: I don't like this chapter! Ally slapped me, then broke down crying in my arms! That's too dramatic!**

**Me: I kind of like drama! :D  
It's fun!**

**Cyrus: I'll show you some REAL fun. B)**

**Ally: *Blink blink* I'm not really sure if anyone else has the same idea of "fun" as you.**

**Cyrus: Well that's a shame...I should teach them!**

**Tron: *Punches Cyrus in the head and knocks him out* Not today...**

**Me: Okaaay then...I also thought it'd be cool to bring up that I'll later bring Liz back into this story! ;)**

**Liz: Yay! :D**

**Me: But it'll come with a price to pay...**

**Everyone: :O**

**Me: *Evil grin* Hehe, yes! I have the perfect plan! But until then...TRON LIVES! Toodles. ;D  
**


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